Healthy Families Far North are excited to officially welcome Riowhiti Rademacher-Taniora and her whānau to the Healthy Families Far North team with a pōhiri at Te Ngaere Marae in Kāeo this week.
Riowhiti will sit across the team providing support in and around all our kaupapa, supporting local champions and leaders to create healthy and sustainable systems change in Te Tai Tokerau.
She’s excited to learn alongside whānau and staff to take a strengths-based and culturally grounded approach to enabling rangatiratanga, so that whānau can design powerful alternatives to the status quo.
She says her vision for Te Tai Tokerau is for our collective dreams and aspirations to come true, where whānau are happy, healthy and thriving in their communities.
Welcome to the Healthy Families whānau, Riowhiti!
Meet our new project coordinator/administrator and get to know what makes her tick.
Ko Riowhiti Rademacher-Taniora taku ingoa. Ko Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti America ngā iwi. I was raised all over the motu, but spent a big part of my life raised in Pupuke, Whangaroa. I have four beautiful tamariki and a handsome tane. We recently moved home two years ago after completing my diploma in tikanga and kai oranga certificate which inspired me to return home. I have a huge passion for supporting wāhine/māmā and have been supporting wāhine of Whangaroa on their hauora journey for the past few years.
Why did you decide to join Healthy Families Far North?
To work alongside the community and learn about changing the system. I wanted a role that could challenge me to push myself even further and most importantly to be surrounded by a team that I can learn from and also contribute.
What does systems change mean to you?
For me it means to being open to change, to think about the way systems are put in place and whether they work or not for our whānau. It’s about understanding that our whānau are the experts, enabling them to share their views and to be brave enough to try new things.
What do you hope to do at Healthy Families Far North to affect and create change?
To empower tangata whenua, to use their voices and challenge the current narrative. To be alongside more of our people who are leading their own communities.
What is your vision for Te Tai Tokerau?
To dream big, real big, and to make all OUR collective dreams and aspirations come true.
What are you doing in your spare time?
I am passionate about the mind body and soul connection. Yin yoga and trauma informed facilitation is my part of my current haerenga. I’m also on my reo journey. I am a forever learner!