Each week Wai Taylor drives from Wellington city over the hill to Wainuiomata and sets up a mirimiri station in Pukeatua the whare tīpuna at Wainuiomata Marae.

There she spends several hours offering services in mirimiri as part of Te Pūmanawa o Te Iwi – Kaumātua Day.

Mirimiri is traditional Māori massage and kuia and koroua who avail themselves of the service, clearly relish the opportunity. Wai says the time they spend under her healing hands has both spiritual and physical benefits.

“For those who have respiratory problems it helps with breathing; for those with diabetes it helps with circulation; and it helps with general aches and pains. But it lifts their spirits as well, especially being in this whare. It’s really special.”

Te Pūmanawa o Te Iwi is jointly organised by Wainuiomata Marae and Kōkiri Marae Health and Social Services and attracts up to 60 kaumātua from throughout the Hutt Valley each week.

Both Kōkiri Marae Health and Social Services and Wainuiomata Marae are a part of the Whānau Ora provider collective ‘Tākiri Mai Te Ata’.

“Te Puni Kōkiri strives for Māori to enjoy a better quality of life,” says Te Whanganui ā Tara Regional Director Hata Wilson.

“We know that many of the answers to helping us achieve exist in our communities and initiatives like Te Pūmanawa o Te Iwi show how that works,” he says.

Encouraging good health is a key focus of Te Pūmanawa o Te Iwi. As well as Mirimiri, kaumātua can have checkups with community health nurses for blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and other primary health services. Acupuncture and Bowen technique are among other treatments on offer, and there are regular guest speakers with a focus on health education.

“Since we began four years ago, there have been significant health benefits, and fewer visits to the doctors,” says Wainuiomata Marae Manager Linda Olsen.

“We raise awareness and deal with small health issues before they become bigger issues,” she says.

It’s not only the health services that contribute to that. In the wharekai, Tai Chi, line dancing, and even a little bit of (gentle) rock ‘n’ roll dancing, is the norm on Wednesdays.

Farena Pahina, who runs kaumātua services for Kōkiri Marae Health and Social Services, ably leads the kaumātua through their exercise regime and says that it has improved their mobility. But she says the programme’s best outcome is to enable kaumātua to engage with the marae.

“They are urban Māori, and a lot of them have not had a lot of engagement with marae.

“I think that’s important for their overall well-being. It helps us look after our whānau in a way that has spiritual and physical benefits,” Farena says.