Kaumātua Day: a Māori community-led approach to addressing the health and wellbeing needs of elderly Māori following the Canterbury earthquakes

Authors: Kenney C

Summary: Within the disaster response and research sectors, there is increasing recognition of the value of community-led initiatives that facilitate emergency management, mitigate health risks as well as foster community well-being. In contrast, the value of culture-based approaches to addressing disaster recovery has rarely been acknowledged. Recent kaupapa Māori research conducted in Christchurch suggests that Māori response initiatives were characterised by collaborative accountability, authority, agency, and actions, because within a Māori paradigm, a hierarchically-structured ‘command and control’ approach to facilitating community recovery has proven to be ineffective. Māori-led responses in Canterbury were found to be consistently shaped by kaupapa (cultural values) and highly effective in addressing the needs of local communities. Research findings may be usefully drawn upon to enhance public health and emergency management policies and practices. When the Canterbury earthquakes commenced, Ngāi Tahu, as kaitiaki, had an obligation to ensure the wellbeing of all Christchurch residents. After the February 22nd earthquake in 2011, a national Māori Recovery Network was established, and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu coordinated community support. The eastern suburbs of Christchurch were most severely impacted by the earthquakes. As these suburbs are home to the majority of urban Māori, many Kaumātua were disproportionately affected with reduced access to basic necessities, sanitation, power, transport and support from frontline responders. Māori elders with significant health and mobility issues were particularly marginalised, due to isolation in unsafe homes. Access to appropriate and culturally acceptable health services was also very limited. Consequently, Māori elderly experienced increased rates of illness and a corresponding deterioration in psychosocial wellbeing. In response, five Māori women with community leadership and service expertise collaborated to develop a community-led initiative, ‘Kaumātua Day’, in order to facilitate psychosocial and material support for elderly Māori living in the eastern suburbs. Seed funding was accessed from both the Todd and Tindall Foundations and the initiative was implemented in March 2012, in accordance with Māori collective values. Specific Kaumātua Day goals included: 1. Reducing social isolation by supporting elderly residents to meet several times a month; and 2. Supporting social connectedness by facilitating group aspirations, entertainment, dinners and opportunities for intergenerational socialisation; and 3. Facilitating access to material, social and health resources/services for those who were mobility impaired, geographically/socially isolated and/or experiencing elder abuse. Since inception, Kaumātua engagement with the initiative has gradually increased. Currently, approximately 170 Māori elders participate on a semi-regular basis. Due to the initiative’s effectiveness, Kaumātua Day has expanded to provide outreach services for the wider elderly community in Eastern Christchurch. Key factors in the initiative’s success include the Māori collectivised approach to leadership as well as the enactment of traditional cultural values and practices, which offer a counterpoint to commonly applied ‘command-and-control’ approaches to managing the health risks of elderly Māori who reside in post-disaster contexts.

Reference: Five Māori women community leaders volunteer to reduce earthquake impact on elderly residents in Eastern Christchurch. In UNISDR (Ed). Women’s Leadership in Risk-Resilient Development (pp. 65-70). Bangkok: United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.