Kia ora koutou katoa, It’s been lovely getting out and about over the last couple of weeks to meet some of you with the Independent Children’s Monitor teams – Caregiver Feedback sessions and with the Family Fun Days. It was awesome to be invited to the Otautahi Foster...
Kia ora koutou katoa, I’m very happy to be introducing myself as your Canterbury Regional Coordinator for Caring Families Aotearoa. Ko Marney Holthouse taku ingoa (my name is Marney). Previously, I worked in the care sector supporting and working alongside caregivers....
Kia ora ki te whānau, It’s been a tough couple of months for some and I hope everyone is doing okay? Remember there is help out there if you need it. The Ministry of Health has COVID-19 mental health and wellbeing resources on their website to help you and your loved...
Kia ora everyone, Wow, what a month we’ve had. Moving into another Lockdown, some of us planning for vaccines, coming to grips with a new life of wearing masks and our vocabulary now includes QR codes and contact tracing, which two years ago, we wouldn’t ever have...
Kia ora everyone, Gosh, what a year we have had. Have you been watching the Tokyo Olympics? I’ve managed to catch some of the events New Zealanders are in. It has been interesting watching how it has been operating this time due to COVID-19. It has certainly been a...
Kia ora everyone, Well, winter has certainly sent us her message. We’ve had our log fire stoked up warming up our place constantly over the last couple of weeks. I hope you and your whānau are well after the recent weather events. If you need support, please get in...
Kia ora everyone, I hope you have managed to stay warm and dry over the past few days, our thoughts go out to those affected by the rain. The log burner has started warming our house. What a full-on first half of the year it has been! As winter settles in, and the...
Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa / Warm greetings to you all, May is the month we celebrate Mother’s Day. To all our mums who share their hearts with our children in care, can I say a very heartfelt “THANK YOU”. You are truly amazing women who give so much and ask...
Kia ora everyone, I hope all of our caregiver members registered for the ‘Night on Us’ – Pizza deal. Our household certainly did. Many thanks to Dominos, (nice to find out how community minded they are!) and to Caring Families Aotearoa. Thanks to one of our regional...
Kia ora everyone, Firstly, I want to say a big thanks to Deb and Greg Curtis & Nicole and Anton McLean for being our (Caring Families Aotearoa) face, hands and feet at our recent events in Canterbury. Thanks to all the caregivers and tamariki that attended and...
Mere Kirihimete (Merry Christmas) everyone This year more than any other, I have been keenly aware of the challenges that you have all faced. You continuously demonstrate your strength as you care and advocate for yourselves and tamariki and rangatahi in your care....
Kia ora everyone, This year continues to steam ahead and we’re now in November! The best thing is having longer days and warmer weather, most of the time. Are you aware that we are now offering online learning options for caregivers? No matter where you live, you can...
Kia ora, Here we are already at our Whiringa-ā-nuku (October) Snippets. We have almost made it through this incredible year and we are on the home straight! I have run out of words to try and say how I feel about the way the world has changed this year. I’m sure lots...
Kia ora team! This year is disappearing quicker than a packet of Tim Tams… We had some robust kōrero (conversation) at the Understanding National Care Standards Training in Christchurch last month. There were three members of the Oranga Tamariki Care Team in...
Tēnā koutou everyone, Things will hopefully start feeling less wintery soon – but while we’re indoors you can keep warm at one of our upcoming Trainings... I’m excited to be delivering newly developed material on “Identity & Belonging” and “Legal Information” –...
Kia ora everyone, How are you doing? Winter hasn’t waited while we’ve been warm and cozy in our homes, has it! Workshops are back in Term 3 – yay! Take a look at our training calendar to see what’s coming up near you. Our poll on Facebook showed we’re all looking...
Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa / Warm greetings to you all, Well Canterbury, we’ve had another of many chances to adapt! In 10 years we’ve navigated a number of really tough situations, and while we might be somewhat weary – we’re adapting well again.There’s an...
Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa / Warm greetings to you all, The last few weeks have been memorable for so many reasons. While nationally we’re experiencing the same lockdown/rāhui, each household experiences very personal variations. Your own unique ‘blend’ of...
Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa / Warm greetings to you all This month, I’m writing this from my postage-stamp-sized home office! I won’t bombard you with a spiel about the current state of things – in fact in our family we are aiming to have Coronavirus-free...