11 June 2018
"I thought I would start writing this little blog about my trip to Paihia (IASP Asia Pacific Conference), held on the 2-5 May 2018."
"Firstly, I would like to acknowledge Le Va and CASA for the opportunity to participate in this awesome conference around suicide prevention, and to listen to some of the presentations. What caught my eye on the first day was the partnerships between Otago University, CASA, Le Va and Te Rau Matatini, working collaboratively together to provide this opportunity for researchers, practitioners, help line workers, programme planners, graduate students, and those within the community who have been championing the prevention space around the world."
"Turning the Tide together – Te Taipari, Te Taitimu - is something that resonates with me. In Kahungunu with Te Taitimu trust we have been using these words for the past 11 years in all our programmes and in the events we have provided for our whānau."
"Winning the LifeKeepers Award for 2017 gave me the opportunity to rub shoulders with many people from different ethnic groups and to build my knowledge base about suicide prevention activities that have been happening. Being a freezing worker for the past 20 years, and working in the health sector for the past 15 years around building connected, resilient, and confident whanau, gave me the opportunity to talk with many people who have their own take on providing opportunities of learning in the suicide space. If there's one story I will take home from this particular conference, it is the message that Mason Durie left with us when he spoke on the first day around the history of the Treaty of Waitangi. He spoke about what was happening at that period of time for our Māori people, about some of the fall out of that whakapapa (i.e. loss of whenua, loss of hope), and about how that fall out that is carried through to our future generations and affects us into the future."
"In finishing, I would like to acknowledge the work that Le Va has done in connecting with whānau like myself, to bring about hope by sharing the voice of our communities and the positive activities they run to support generations to come."
Ngā mihi,
Zack Henare Makoare
CEO
Te Taitimu Trust