Rāapa, 8 Hōngongoi 2026 | Wednesday, 8 July 2026 

Nau mai, hoki mai e te whānau

Ka mahuta a Matariki i te pae, ka mahuta ō tātou tūmanako ki te tau

When Matariki rises above the horizon, our aspirations rise to the year ahead. 

As Matariki rises, so too do our shared aspirations. Lasting change begins when communities come together around a common purpose. We look forward to another year of strengthening connections, enabling collective action, and helping create the conditions for Porirua to be the best place to raise a whānau. 

A case study shared by Maraeroa Marae Health Clinic

Whakawhānaungatanga IS the real business

How one hour of whakawhānaungatanga each month helped transform a gap in stroke support into coordinated action for Porirua whānau.

Community connectedness is often invisible until it is needed. It is the invisible fabric that helps hold communities together during times of disruption, uncertainty and change. Trusted relationships help people coordinate support more quickly and wrap the right services around those who need them.

Every month, providers from across Porirua invest one hour in Porirua Providers’ Cuppa & Connect. On paper, it looks like a networking hui. In practice, it is a space for whakawhānaungatanga - building the relationships, trust and understanding that make collaboration possible long before a need arises.

In busy agendas, whakawhānaungatanga can sometimes feel like something we work through before getting to the "real" business. This story from Maraeroa Marae Health Clinic reminds us that it is the real business.

Last year, Maraeroa Marae Health Clinic and Stroke Aotearoa New Zealand came together to address a gap in stroke support services in Porirua. Porirua Providers’ Cuppa & Connect helped turn that vision into reality.

Recovering from a stroke can affect every part of whānau life. Housing, income, transport, care and rehabilitation needs can change suddenly, often requiring support from multiple services.

Navigating that changing service landscape can be complex and time-consuming.

“We thought there must be a simpler way. There must be an easier way for us to help navigate whānau through this.”

Knowing Who to Call

One of the biggest challenges was knowing what support was currently available, who could take referrals, and who to contact.

“We discovered there was a huge disconnect between our services… we didn't really know what services were still actually providing support for stroke survivors.”

Funding changes. Contracts change. Kaimahi move on. Services reach capacity.

Through the Porirua Providers’ Cuppa & Connect, Maraeroa Marae Health Clinic and Stroke Aotearoa quickly built a practical understanding of the local service network - not just which organisations existed, but the people behind them and who they could approach.

Relationships Made It Easier to Ask for Help

As the Stroke Support Programme took shape the organisers realised they needed support and expertise from across the community.

Because relationships had already been built through Porirua Providers’ Cuppa & Connect, they didn’t have to start from scratch.

“We found everyone we needed there, and everybody showed up because of our connections.”

Around 20 providers contributed to the program, bringing the expertise stroke survivors and their whānau needed.

“If we didn’t have the Porirua Providers’ network we would have had to cold call people. We would have had to, you know, go door knocking.”

Instead, they knew exactly who to call and felt comfortable asking them to contribute.

Connection Accelerated Action

The strongest evidence of those relationships came in the speed at which the programme moved from planning to delivery.

“Within a month we were able to start slotting people into our programme. Without the relationships we'd built through Porirua Providers', it would have taken much longer. We already knew who could help, it was easy to ask, and people responded. Our stroke support programme was such a success because Porirua Providers' enabled us to build those relationships so quickly.”

Sometimes, the difference between identifying a need and being able to act on it is knowing who to call.

"To be able to walk into a room of 40 services who you know on a first name basis and say, ‘Hey, I need you,’ and have everyone turn up, well that was amazing."

The Stroke Support Programme shows what becomes possible when providers do not have to start from scratch every time a new community need emerges. People know who can help. Existing relationships make it easier to ask. The community responds.

The value of whakawhānaungatanga isn't measured by attendance at a hui. It's measured by what becomes possible because of those relationships.

For Maraeroa Marae Health Clinic and Stroke Aotearoa, one hour each month invested in relationships translated into faster action when it mattered most, helping stroke-affected whānau sooner.

This is what a network that responds when needed looks like. It isn't built during a crisis. It's built one conversation, one relationship and one hour at a time.

Thank you to Maraeroa Marae Health Clinic for sharing your story. It reminds us that every conversation, every connection and every relationship we build today strengthens our ability to support whānau tomorrow.

Providers' Cuppa & Connect Wednesday, 15th July

At its core, Porirua Providers' is about making it easier for whānau to get the support they need without having to navigate the system alone.

“It’s shortening that distance between the whānau who have a need and the provider who can help with that need.”

Join us for this informal monthly catch-up. It's a great opportunity to connect, meet other Porirua providers, and share information and ideas. Come along to the next one.

Details: 

• When: Wednesday, 15 July 2026 | 10am - 11am 
• Venue: Mungavin Hall (Supper Room), Mungavin Avenue

No RSVP needed! Just drop in every third Wednesday of the month.

#kotahitanga #manaakitanga #PoriruaProviders

The Future of Energy Isn't About Power. It's About Whānau. 

When we think about energy, most of us think about keeping the lights on. 

But energy is about much more than electricity. 

It's about whether a whānau can afford to keep their home warm through winter. Whether tamariki grow up in healthy homes. Whether kaumātua can stay warm enough to avoid illness. And whether our community can continue to function when storms, earthquakes or other disruptions affect our energy supply. 

In short, energy is a well-being issue. 

For many whānau across Aotearoa, energy is also becoming a source of hardship. Research shows the lowest-income households spend more than 7.5% of their income on electricity, while the wealthiest 10% spend just 1.3%. Rising energy costs and poor-quality housing mean too many families are forced to choose between heating their home, putting food on the table, or paying other essential bills. 

There are many ways people talk about energy. Some focus on energy security, ensuring power is available when we need it. Others talk about energy resilience, energy hardship, energy efficiency, energy sovereignty or the transition to renewable energy. Each highlights an important part of the picture. 

We use the term energy well-being because it keeps our focus where it belongs, not on the energy system itself, but on the people it exists to serve. 

Improving energy well-being means thinking about the whole system from the quality of our homes and how efficiently we use energy, through to how energy is generated, shared and accessed across our community. Ultimately, it's about ensuring every whānau has access to the energy they need to live well. 

Through the Porirua Climate Assembly, our community recognised that energy sits at the heart of both resilience and well-being. They recognised that the transition to renewable energy presents an opportunity to strengthen resilience - but only if the benefits are shared fairly across the whole community. 

That recommendation has since been adopted by the Porirua Community Leaders' Forum, with Energy Well-being identified as a priority area for collective action. 

We are supporting community energy well-being by starting where energy matters most - our homes. Warm, dry, energy-efficient homes are one of the strongest foundations for good health and well-being. By bringing together community organisations, technical experts and local champions, we're exploring practical ways to improve home energy performance, reduce energy hardship, strengthen community resilience and shape longer-term system change. No single organisation can achieve this alone. 

Around the world, communities are beginning to rethink who benefits from renewable energy. In Australia, for example, a new Solar Sharer Offer provides households with three free hours of electricity each day when solar generation is at its highest. Importantly, people don't need to own solar panels to benefit, renters and apartment dwellers can share in the benefits too. 

Whether that exact model is right for Porirua isn't the point. It challenges us to ask a bigger question: 

What would it take for every whānau in Porirua to enjoy energy well-being? 

That is the conversation we want to have in Porirua. 

Join the kaupapa here. 

If you're passionate about warm, healthy homes, reducing energy hardship, renewable energy, community resilience or creating a fairer future for Porirua, we'd love you to join the Porirua Energy Well-being Kaupapa Group. 

Together, we can shape practical, community-led solutions that make energy more affordable, more resilient and more equitable for today's whānau and for generations to come. 

Established in 2021, the Porirua Community Leaders' Forum strengthens local connections and provides a shared space for community-led action across Porirua. It brings together leaders from iwi, community, Pacific and Migrant communities, business, education and social sectors to identify shared priorities and coordinate collective impact for our city. Read more about the Porirua Community Leaders' Forum here.

You can register to join the forum by emailing porirua.assembly@ngatitoa.iwi.nz

The next hui will be on Saturday 1 August 2026, 1pm-4pm.

Wāhine mā - FREE Breast Screening at Maraeroa Marae Health Clinic

In partnership with Vaka Atafaga Nursing Services and BreastScreen Aotearoa - the BreastScreen Aotearoa Mobile Clinic will be at Maraeroa Marae Health Clinic until the end of July.

Breast screening can detect changes before you notice any symptoms, helping to find breast cancer early when treatment is most effective.

Call to book your spot Freephone 0800 270 200 or click on the link HERE to register for an appointment.

Matariki: Reflecting on What We're Building Together

Matariki invites us to pause and reflect on the year that has passed. To acknowledge those who have contributed along the way. To celebrate what has grown. And to set our intentions for what comes next.

It is a reminder that while we cannot change the past, we can choose how we move forward together.

Looking across Porirua, there is much to be grateful for.

Not because all of our challenges have been solved - they haven't. Many whānau continue to face housing pressures, financial hardship, social isolation and the impacts of drug harm. Like communities across Aotearoa, we are navigating increasingly complex issues that no single organisation can solve alone.

Yet alongside these challenges, something hopeful is happening.

Across our city, more people are choosing collaboration. Organisations are sharing knowledge, building trust and working together in ways that simply weren't happening a few years ago. Community leaders are stepping further forward. Local solutions are emerging. Conversations are becoming action.

Perhaps the most encouraging thing is that this isn't happening in one programme or one organisation.

It is happening across Porirua.

We see it in providers who gather each month to strengthen relationships before they're needed. We see it in housing organisations identifying practical ways to work together. We see it in the collective action taking shape around kai, community resilience, and drug harm. We see it in community members who continue to give their time, knowledge and leadership because they care deeply about the future of this place.

These are more than individual initiatives.

Together, they are creating the conditions for a community that can respond, adapt and thrive.

At its heart, this is what Matariki reminds us.

The future isn't something that simply happens to us. It is something we create through the choices we make, the relationships we nurture, and the responsibilities we share.

As we look ahead, the question is ‘What kind of community do we want Porirua to become - and what part will each of us play in creating it?’

The opportunities to contribute are already here.

Whether it's joining one of the Porirua Community Leaders' Forum kaupapa groups, sharing your experience, supporting a local initiative, volunteering, or simply making a new connection with another organisation or neighbour, every contribution helps strengthen the fabric of our community.

Communities aren't built by institutions alone.

They're built by people.

This Matariki, as we reflect on how far we've come, let's also look ahead with intention.

Together, we're not just responding to today's challenges.

We're shaping the kind of Porirua our tamariki and mokopuna deserve to inherit.

Mānawatia a Matariki ki a koutou katoa.

Community planting at Bothamley Park and Camborne Walkway

Celebrate Matariki with restoration, reflection and connection. There will be 1800 plants for planting, tools for picking up litter, the chance to connect with community organisations, and a free BBQ for those putting in the hard mahi. 

No experience is needed - just a willingness to get your hands dirty for a great cause.

• When: Saturday, 18 July 2026 (postponement day Sunday, 19 July)
• Time: 10am - 12.30pm
• Where: Bothamley Park, Champion Street entrance

For more information about this event, email streamside.planting@poriruacity.govt.nz

For those unable to attend the July planting day, The Rotary Club of Plimmerton are hosting other planting days this season.

• Saturday 1 August
• Saturday 5 September
• 5 or 6 November (date to be confirmed)

For more information, check out their Tree Planting Programme 2026 here. 

Your feedback is important to us. If you have any questions, concerns or comments, please email us at tewahitiakitatou@ngatitoa.iwi.nz