Join our next cultural day this month

At ConneXu we like to celebrate and appreciate a person’s individuality. However, part of what makes us all unique as individuals is the culture we were brought up in, or identify with. To understand us as individuals, we therefore need to be able to appreciate the different cultures of people in our organisation, as well as within our community as a whole. With this in mind, we are running a series of cultural awareness days with the people we support, with one very successful day already held earlier this year (see photos), and another one planned later this month. 

The first ConneXu Cultural day was held at the Otawhau Marae, at Te Awamutu College, where we celebrated Matariki (the Maori New Year), learned about Maori culture, and what Maori-dom means to Maori people. As part of this, we participated in a waiata, a powhiri and looked at what a marae represents. The people we support helped to put a hangi down and this was enjoyed by all. The day was about embracing and sharing culture, and it proved to be a great success. 

During the day, some of the people we support showed the desire to learn a waiata, so in response, we have been teaching Maori songs at the houses. However, further down the track, we plan to hold monthly marae visits for any who are interested in learning more about Maori culture. 

In addition to the marae visits, our next Cultural day is being planned for later this month, where we will celebrate Indian, Irish, Kiwiana (NZ European) and Pacific Island cultures. If you, or someone you know, are interested in joining us for this event, please contact us.