Waihōpai Rūnaka

Kia ora koutou e te whānau, ngā mihi nui, ngā mihi aroha ki a koutou katoa!

Rukuhia te wāhi ngaro, hei maunga tātai whetū. Explore the unknown, pursue excellence.

Message from our CEO

Kia ora koutou e te whānau

It is remarkable to think that we are at the end of another year! We have been in our temporary offices for just over a year now, which means we are just that little bit closer to returning to Murihiku Marae.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Waihōpai team, executive, whānau and community partners for all the hard mahi over the last 12 months, and wish you all a safe happy Christmas with whānau. Have fun and treat each other with love and kindness.

Kā mihi

Odele Stehlin

Te Korimako Legal Training

Whānau Response Team members Tracy Reed and Tahnee Ogilvy recently attended Te Korimako legal training in Wellington.

Established in 2017, Te Korimako is an initiative to train and educate Iwi, legal and social service providers to assist whānau who come to the attention of Oranga Tamariki to participate in the care and protection process, including within the Family Court.

https://tekorimako.org/ check it out whānau!

Rangatahi Zone Motupohue

Waihōpai kaimahi were fortunate to tautoko Rangatahi Zone which was held in Bluff. Rangatahi Zone was an initiative by the Tuurama Trust to add some fun, healing, inspiration, and creativity to our community.

This event will be held over a threeday period in the next school holidays, similar to Invercargill’s famous ILT Kid Zone. Held over several venues in Bluff with aunties/uncles leading free activities and nannies having cuppas ready to listen, this event is all about making whānau connections and offering supportive advice between big doses of Nanny loving cuddles. Open to all Southlander's aged 10 - 18 years old.