TE WHĀNAU-A-HAUNUI
Waimangō Papakāinga Covid-19 Protection Framework
The WPT Covid Protection Framework policy can be found here
The policy summary can be found here
The "Can you visit Waimango?" flow chart can be found here
The link to upload your vaccine certificate can be found here - https://forms.gle/YhQn8x1vs9jQGiMS7
Note that those who are younger than 12 years old are not required to be vaccinated at this stage.
Te toto o te tangata he kai, te oranga o te tangata he whenua.
Food is the blood of the people, but the welfare of the people lies in the land.
E Te Whānau-a-Haunui, tēnā koutou katoa.
This whakataukī reflects our relationship to Waimangō well. Waimangō does not just provide us with food. It nourishes our well being - physically, mentally, and spiritually. As the descendants of Haunui and Meri we do not just live on the land or rely on it for food, we belong to it. There is no other place in the world that provides us this sustenance. As the whakataukī says, it is the source of our oranga.
Summer at Waimangō has long been a most important time for our whānau - for building relationships with each other, and for caring for our ancestral taonga, Waimangō. I know that many of our whānau are really needing to come back home - we all need a Waimangō fix! - and are planning to visit the papakāinga over the summer.
Hence, as always, the Waimangō Papakāinga Trust is working to ensure that our whānau has yet another wonderful summer holiday at the papakāinga.
As part of our preparations for summer, we write to let the whānau know about a number of protocols that have been developed by the Trust for implementation on the papakāinga during the forthcoming summer (15 November 2021- 31 March 2022). These protocols concern ways of keeping our whānau healthy and safe while visiting the papakāinga at this time.
Covid-19 represents a serious threat to the health and wellbeing of our whānau and its spread is accelerated through gatherings and hui. Hence, the Trust has decided to implement a ‘double vaccination policy’ for entry onto the papakāinga. What this means is that whānau members will be required to be double vaccinated and register their vaccination with the Trust before they make their way to Waimangō.
The reason for this decision is that we know that vaccinations, physical distancing and contact tracing remains the most effective way thus far discovered to prevent the spread of Covid-19. We are also aware that many whānau members, as well as friends and whanaunga, will be visiting the papakāinga in the coming months. Hence, we need to put measures in place to ensure the health and safety of all who visit Waimangō.
We wish to assure the whānau that we have not made this decision lightly and the Trust takes its roles and responsibilities seriously. The health and safety of our whānau is uppermost in our minds and we are particularly motivated by caring for our elders - Aunty Dear, Uncle Tūroa, Aunty Ducky, Uncle Jim and Aunty Keriata (if they are here) - and the children and mokopuna of the whānau who are not able to be vaccinated at this time. There are others in the whānau too who for personal health reasons need protection in the time of Covid-19.
It is through aroha for our whānau as a whole and for Waimangō that we have made this decision and established these protocols. We seek your support as a whānau to implement these protocols and guidelines. It will require a high level of trust between us all to ensure their success.
Please note that this is the first time that the Papakāinga Trust has had to develop protocols of this nature. This is a first for us. Hence, we will implement these protocols for now and review them again from April 2022.
Other aspects of the protocols can be read on the accompanying information sheet.
Finally, we encourage as many of the whānau as possible to get vaccinated and that, as a whānau, we set a target of 95% of the whānau receiving double vaccination. We hope you will join us in implementing these protocols and this plan to keep us all safe and healthy during this time.
Vicki Meri Royal
Chairperson
Waimangō Papakāinga Trust