Feature Story: MANAAKITIA TE MANA O TE AWA

WSNZ, in association with ACC RiverSafe, have produced a resource in te reo Māori to promote river safety awareness. ‘Manaakitia te mana o te awa’ (respect the power of the river) is the catch phrase to use when in, near or on the river, and is now on a styley new sticker.

A recent tangi for a teenage boy who drowned while swimming and bombing with his friends in the Waikato River was a sober awakening to the hidden dangers of rivers.

Seven Māori drowned in rivers for the year 2005 compared to twelve in 2004, however, in most cases the loss of life could have been prevented. On average over the past three years twice as many Māori drowned in the Waikato compared with any other region, with a total of 13 drownings.

No reira, e koutou te whanau ‘ Manaakitia te mana o te awa”. The stickers will soon be available to order from WSNZ, and look particularly good on the back of a waka!

PAATUKI TAHI KAUKAU – RAHUI POKEKA

Tamariki from several Kura Kaupapa Māori in the Waikato region converged on the Rahui Pokeka, Huntly Pools, last week to take part in the Paatuki Tahi Kaukau event. Kura from as far as Whaingaroa (Raglan), Waharoa, Rakaumanga, Te Ara Rima, Toku Mapihi Maurea, Rangiriri and Huntly West turned up to show case their swimming and water safety skills.

WSNZ organised the event in association with a local swim club, ‘Te Wai Puna Wai’ of Huntly, to encourage and support the Swim for Life initiative. Tamariki took the opportunity to showcase their water safety skills amongst their whanau and mates.

Pare Heta, event coordinator, says “the day was an awesome opportunity for tamariki to test themselves amongst whanau in a kaupapa Māori environment.”

Te Whare Kura o Rakaumangamanga was the overall winner of the Paatuki Tahi Kaukau trophy for most outstanding kura. Winners and place getters each received ‘Swim for Life’ and ‘Kia Maanu, Kia Ora’ tee-shirts with spot prizes handed out to participants during the day.

NGARUAWAAHIA WAKA KOPAPA REGATTA

The Ngaruawaahia Waka Kopapa Regatta, held on March 17-18, is an annual two-day event at Turangawaewae Marae. This regatta is a celebration of waka Kopapa (single hull) racing amongst primary, intermediate and secondary schools from Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Manukau regions. The event is also a public outing by the river for everyone with a host of stalls, fun park rides and entertainment for all the whanau.

For WSNZ it was another opportunity to get face to face and promote being safe on and around the Waikato River. All paddlers are required to wear lifejackets and must adhere to the rules of racing on the river with safety boats always in close proximity in the case of capsize.

Mark (WSNZ) along with the Te Toki Hillbillies crew handed out RiverSafe stickers and tattoos to onlookers. Mark also gave a demonstration to crews on river swimming and safe exiting from the river if a waka capsize occurred.

WORLD WAKA AMA SPRINT CHAMPS

The 12th annual Waka Ama IVF Va’a World Sprint Champs were staged at Lake Karapiro last month attracting up to 5000 competitors from 26 countries including the Pacific Island nations, USA, Canada, Australia and countries from Europe.

Waka ama racing has been a traditional pastime for Māori and our Pacific cousins for generations, which is why whanau are now participating and competing at every opportunity.

WSNZ Coordinator, Mark Haimona, was there throughout the week to tautoko the event with provision of water safety resources and information for water sites around Aotearoa. Waka ama is a fast growing sport in this country and a fantastic way to promote water safety and skill development for Māori.

Another important break through for the sport and members of Nga Kaihoe o Aotearoa was the introduction of Waka Ama Safety Guidelines by Maritime New Zealand. Since 2002, Waka Safety Guidelines have been circulating around the motu in an effort to develop appropriate safety systems and procedures for paddlers, coaches and clubs. All kaihoe or paddlers must be aware of the risks and skills needed to avoid hazardous situations and local conditions while out on the water. It is envisaged that each waka ama club will adopt their own risk management tools based on the Safety Guidelines. The Guidelines provide detailed information on Waka, Equipment, personnel, Operating Procedures and Emergency Procedures.

Overall New Zealand ended up topping the medal tally with 63 medals, 20 Gold, 18 Silver and 25 Bronze. Tumeke Aotearoa!

ACC SAFER ROHE GETS WATERWISE

He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.

Without a doubt, Māoridom’s greatest asset is its people. And ACC agrees.

Safer Rohe is a new initiative by ACC to target Māori communities in the Waikato, Far North, South Auckland and East Coast/Gisborne regions. The aim is to work towards providing a safe environment so that we reduce the number of preventable injuries and death amongst whanau.

Safer Rohe Injury Prevention Consultants have been linking in with Mark Haimona (WSNZ) to support the Kia Maanu, Kia Ora message of keeping Māori safe in near and on water. Mark says “it certainly helps me to network with the consultants and seek support for our strategy and projects on water safety.”

Each region is unique in terms of water conditions and water activities that whanau undertake and thus it’s great to have people from their own respective areas spreading the right messages. For instance, in the Waikato the focus is on river safety compared to South Auckland where the focus is on pools and shore fishing/netting or the East Coast where the sea is the primary risk site.

Water Safety New Zealand looks forward to strengthening this relationship as part of the Drowning Prevention Strategy Towards a Water Safe New Zealand.