Kia ora koutou ngā rūnaka o Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha me Rapuwai.
Well things have moved on so fast that Te Matatini is a distant memory of wonderful music from the iwi of New Zealand; it was absolutely wonderful but enough said back to reality.
For all those who are having birthdays this month, happy birthday and have a great day. To all whānau who have new additions, a big congrats to you all. Aroha nui whānau.
There is heaps happening onsite and offsite at the marae. We were lucky to have completed two tikanga programmes, five days in the prison and then three days at Murihiku Marae.
Among the other meetings that we attend as representatives for our rūnaka like the Ōraka Aparima hui with the Community Trust of Southland, Southland Institute of Technology and my weekly meetings at Child Youth and Family Services.
The marae has kapa haka every Thursday night and it’s great. We recently had a fundraising dinner night at the marae and it was great also.
Bit worried about the lawns, the bloody rain, we got to mow between the breaks but it’s all good.
Some of us went on a hīkoi up to the Avondale Forests to reseed fresh water koura. It was a great day and we all enjoyed it very much – Winsome, Peggy, Desmond, Julie, Mateka, Ailene, and Squirrel. A big thank you to Robyn from Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu who organised the visit and made it happen.
Just before I go whānau, live the life you want to but do it within the bounds of tika, pono and aroha. Hei konā and have a great month. Aroha nui, Squirrel on the hill.