Māori Party supports Safe Sleep Day

4 December 2015

The Māori Party is proud to promote the series of Mokopuna Ora resources being championed by Whakawhetū www.whakawhetu.co.nz/rauemi being released to mark Safe Sleep Day 2015.

"When we think about protecting our mokopuna we think about the promise our tūpuna believed in; that is articulated in our party’s constitution: - ‘E kore au e ngaro he kākano i ruia mai i Rangiātea - I will never be lost, for I am the seed which was sown from Rangiātea,” says Māori Party Co-leader Marama Fox.

Mrs Fox pays tribute to the incredible efforts of many Māori organisations to prevent SUDI (Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy).

“Just under ten years ago, the Nukutere Weavers' Collective in Gisborne launched the wahakura, a bassinet-like cocoon woven from harakeke, to enable safe bed sharing.”

Over the last three years, 11,000 pēpi pods and 1500 woven wahakura has been rolled out across Aotearoa.

Less than a month ago, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu also launched its pēpi pack which will be given to all newborn babies with Ngāi Tahu whakapapa. The packs were driven by the need to help reduce unexpected death in infancy and to strengthen a baby’s connection to their iwi.

“These initiatives are a fantastic tribute to indigenous innovation. The government can learn a lot from the enterprise of tangata whenua who are doing whatever it takes to keep our whānau well”, she says.

Māori Party Co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell says, “We cannot achieve Whānau Ora without all our mokopuna being well, resilient, nurtured and strong.

“That must surely be our greatest project - to ensure that every seed sown from Rangiātea thrives; every new life enjoys the most optimum conditions to be strong, healthy and supported," he says.

You can promote Safe Sleep Day 2015 by changing your Facebook profile; tweeting a Safe Sleep Day banner; having a 'Weave off' event to produce a wahakura, or simply to have a conversation about safe sleeping of babies.

ENDS

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