Tamariki And Mokopuna in the Context of the Extended Whanau

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Tamariki And Mokopuna in the Context of the Extended Whanau

Te Kohanga National Trust Board said today that the mainstream nature of the recommendations in the White Paper on Vulnerable Children is one of the reasons why it is looking forward to the release of the Waitangi Tribunal’s report on the urgent Kohanga claim brought by the Trust Board.

“The Kohanga Reo has always prioritised the role of the extended whanau in children’s general wellbeing based on the principle of early intervention as espoused by the Maori elders thirty years ago in 1982,” said Dame Iritana Tawhiwhirangi, Trustee of the Trust Board.

“In this regard, addressing vulnerable children without engaging and strengthening vulnerable whanau, and without harnessing the support of many talented and responsible extended whanau members is short sighted.

“Thankfully many services are now moving to grow family involvement, dignity and responsibility based on the exciting Whanau Ora policy. This augurs well for the future of all extended whanau, Maori and non-Maori, and requires a significant paradigm shift for all who are working in this way to stem the tide of vulnerability in the years ahead.”

ENDS

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