14 September, 2020

Regardless of ethnicity, age or circumstance, anyone with a life-limiting illness will be warmly welcomed into Hospice care.

We celebrate the diversity across our three communities through our cultural support services, which are designed to ensure we meet the unique wishes of every patient and their family / whānau with respect and understanding.

These include our Kaiawhina across the three Hospices, who is available to walk alongside our Māori and Pasifika patients, and their whānau, throughout their Hospice journey.

Our advisory group Mahinga Ngatai (working together in unison), is a forum for staff at all levels to work collaboratively to enhance the experience of Maori whanau and to work to implement the goals of our strategic plan and Maori Mate – the Maori Palliative Care Framework for Hospices across New Zealand.

As an organisation we are continually looking for ways to better serve the needs of our patients and their whānau. Maori Language Week gives us an opportunity to further expand our own knowledge and encourage others to feel more comfortable speaking te reo here at Hospice and beyond.

Here’s some of the ways we’re getting behind Maori Language Week 2020.

WE’RE JOINING THE MAORI LANGUAGE MOMENT
On Monday 14th September we’ll be asking Harbour Hospice staff to join more than 200,000 other Kiwis and celebrate Te Reo, as part of the virtual Maori Language Moment. Te Wā Tuku Reo Māori is part of the Māori Language Commission’s plan to get 1 million people speaking, singing and celebrating te reo at the same time.

EVERYDAY ITEMS IN MAORI
Within our Hospice sites and in our admin offices we’ll be further educating our own staff on Maori words for everyday items, so we can start referring to these in Maori throughout the week and beyond - for example, “Could you please open the matapihi?”

REGULAR USE OF KARAKIA
Opening a meeting with Karakia (a prayer or incantation) is becoming a regular practise within Hospice sites – before the start of our Clinical Team meetings, CEO updates and team virtual meetings. This week we’ll be further encouraging and supporting our teams to feel confident in leading Karakia.

KUPU O TE WIKI
Our recently launched Kupu o te wiki (Maori word of the week) is quickly becoming a Hospice staff favourite – further encouraging our own people to speak and understand basic Maori terms and phrases.


With te reo Maori a valued part of our national identity, we hope you’ll join us in marking Maori Language Week in your own way. Kia Kaha te Reo Māori. Let’s make the Maori language strong.

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