275 Times. Mangere community news.

Edition #5
february 2015
times
275 times
celebrating Māngere through sharing its stories
Sandy reaches new heights on PMYP
It started with a simple
decision to make a change.
Months later Sandy Wakari is
reaping the rewards of her decision
as she got to take part in a week
of adventure and fun on the Prime
Minister’s Youth programme.
The programme was organised,
in part by Mangere East Family
Service Centre, for young people
who have overcome some kind of
adversity on the way to achieving
their goals. More than half of the 26
young people selected for this year’s
programme were from Mangere
and Sandy herself is a Mangere
East resident and student at Aorere
College. She says that she used to
be a real handful for her teachers
and mum but thanks to her mentor
and dean Ms Peterson she’s now on
track to gain university entrance at
the end of this year.
“I was quite naughty - always getting
High achiever: Sandy Wakari
in trouble, getting stood down and
didn't pass Level 1.”
Thanks to the Taimana programme
at Aorere College and Ms Peterson’s
mentoring, Sandy has gone from
being another likely “drop-out” to
getting NCEA Level 1 and Level 2.
“Ms Peterson pushed and motivated
me to improve at school. Also seeing
how much my mum wanted me to
change inspired me to make that
decision. I’m now planning to be an
early childhood teacher.”
Sandy, of Nga Puhi and Tainui
descent, spent the week on the
Prime Minister’s Youth Programme
meeting famous high-achievers
like VC winner Willie Apiata, Para-
Olympic gold medalist Sophie
Pascoe and rugby sevens star Tyla
Nathan-Wong. She also got to ride in
a Hummer for the first time in her life
and overcome her fear or heights.
“My highlight was the Tree
Adventures – I was scared of heights
– but I made it Level 5 on the course
[which was about 5-7 m in the air].”
For more info go to: http://www.
myd.govt.nz/young-people/primeministers-youth-programme.html
Mängere East Family Service Team
The team from MEFSC attended the programme
throughout the week providing mentoring, inspiration
and support for the youth involved and they are all highachievers
in their own right. Front row: MEFSC CEO
Peter Sykes, social worker Kim Dennis, fashion designer
Tasha Lee, Waste Minimisation facilitator Justine Skilling,
PMYP project coordinator Shardae Khusal, PMYP
2014 graduate Sone Tu’umatavai. Back row: Waste
Minimisation facilitator Koia Teinakore, LGBT youth
worker Torranice Campel, world beat boxing champ
King Homeboy, Strive youth worker Willie Peace, Aussie
youth mentor Josh Lum, and architect Waikare Komene.

2
Māngere playcentre gives eco-nappies a go
By Justine Skilling
The Mangere East Family Service
Centre’s early childhood centre has
come a long way in 21 years.
Centre Manager Karen Matata says
the centre used to be run out of the
Mangere East School hall - which
was also used for assemblies and
gym classes – and it has always
been about providing children and
their families a place to learn, play
and connect with each other over
conversations about simple things
like nappy rash or swap tips on
getting local bargains.
Karen remembers how many of
those first parents and grandparents
enjoyed participating in the activities
themselves, “reliving a childhood they
never had”.
Nurturing those family connections
is an important part of what the early
Pictured: An example of a cloth nappy
Looking for
Childcare
Mangere Early Learning Centre
Come in and see what makes us so different from
other centres.
At Barnardos KidStart Childcare we understand that your child
needs a safe and nurturing environment to learn, play and grow.
Our centres provide a warm and positive environment for
children under five years.
20 ECE Hours and WINZ subsidies available.
Drop in for a visit or call us now as limited spaces are available.
7:30am – 5pm 33 Cape Road 09 275 5978
Mangere
www.kidstart.co.nz
BarnardosKidStartChildcare
Mangere East Family Service Centre early childhood centre manager Karen Matata
childhood centre does as Karen
says, “it’s all about whanau and
relationships - as that’s the most
important thing”.
Nurturing the environment is part of
this too. Over the years the children
have learned to separate their food
waste and recyclables from landfill
waste and make a weekly trip to
Makaurau Marae to feed the scraps
to the worms and create compost.
And recently, the centre took the
opportunity to trial cloth nappies,
ditching disposables entirely for three
months.
Although initially not convinced that
cloth nappies would work at the
Centre, Karen decided to “give it a
go” after hearing about the terrible
environmental impact of disposable
nappies. She was shocked to
discover that these nappies remain in
our landfills for over 500 years without
breaking down. With a mixed-age
roll of 44 children requiring around
45 nappy changes per session, using
cloth nappies would significantly
reduce the Centre’s environmental
impact and save parents a huge
amount of money at the same time.
Karen says that Centre staff found
the modern cloth nappies reasonably
easy to use, once they got the hang it.
The Centre has it’s own laundry, and
staff were responsible for soaking
and laundering the nappies each
day. Nappies were dried on an
outside line when the weather was
fine. Importantly, parents were very
pleased to be saving money on the
disposables they would normally
supply for their children to use during
sessions.
The Centre plans to use cloth nappies
permanently once their new building
is completed in early 2015. Karen
also wants to encourage other early
childhood centres to give cloth
nappies a go, saying it’s “for the
benefit of the environment”.
If you’re involved with an early
childhood centre and are interested
in trialling cloth nappies, Karen is
more than happy for you to contact
her on 280-3499 to discuss her
experience further.
If you want to see your ad appear in our next issue or if you have a suggestion for a story email
us at: 275times@gmail.com

Ex-Apia Way bouncer busy making a difference
3
Mangere’s infamous Apia Way Bar in
the town centre has seen its fair share
of colourful characters, but few would
have predicted one of its young
bouncers would one day be a lawyer
doing his bit to keep South Auckland
healthy and happy.
But that’s exactly what Jospeh Liava’a
does as the Company Lawyer and
Community Manager for East Tamaki
HealthCare. The former Massey
road resident worked the door at the
Mangere bar, now know as Club R8,
after dropping out of Auckland Boys
Grammar. His stint as a bouncer also
led to him developing an addiction
to alcohol. He says he didn't realise
he had a problem until a doctor told
him his liver was close to shutting
down. After kicking the bottle, he
went on to do a variety of professions,
both here and overseas including
factory worker, fruit picker, bank teller,
labourer, pipefitter and wharfie.
But he says it was his wife Lorraine
who gave him the motivation to go
back go to law school and realise
a long-held dream. His current role
Joseph Liava'a, East Tamaki HealthCare
Company Lawyer and Community Manager.
with East Tamaki Healthcare (ETHC)
gives him the opportunity to promote
not only the work of one of the city’s
largest healthcare providers, but he
also provides a valuable service to
community workers and healthcare
professionals with his weekly
“Communitycations” emails which
inform those working out south of
great events or opportunities coming
up around the region.
Joseph says his motivation for
working for ETHC is to make an
impact in the community.
“I used to think about the massive
gap in health outcomes and life
expectancy between Pacific/Maori
people and the rest of NZ and get
really sad. Then I started to get really
angry at the glaring injustices and
unfairness in the situation. Now,
I just get busy and together with
like minded souls we make those
changes that need making."
And if he won Lotto what would he
do to improve his old hometown of
Mangere
"If I could, I’d buy everyone a house
so they could feel secure."
To get Joseph's weekly event
updates email: joseph@ethc.co.nz
Roy shares secret to Māngere Markets' success
The Mangere Markets have become
one of the city’s most popular
weekend attractions bringing
thousands every Saturday morning
to sample the huge range of fruit,
vegetables, delicious food and an
assortment of household goods and
fashion products.
But few know the man who keeps the
whole thing ticking along smoothly
like a well-oiled machine.
That man is Roy Bagshaw and he's
been the Mangere Markets manager
for the last six years.
The retired sales and marketing guru
says the key to the markets' on-going
success is ensuring the stallholders
sell quality products.
“I love our stall holders – they are
really hardy people who are also
really lovely.
“And if we get good stall holders,
selling good products then we get
good customers, coming back again
and again.”
Roy says another special thing about
the markets is the range of cultures
and ethnicities represented.
“It’s a totally different world [to what
Mangere Markets Manager: Roy Bagshaw
many kiwis know]. We get every
race and colour here. French, Dutch,
Hungarian, Afghani, Chinese plus
every Pacific culture is represented.”
He says one recent development is
the use of Facebook to offer prizes
and promote good deals.
"Marketing has just been by word
of mouth, but with Facebook now,
we’re starting to promote it more that
way." He expects the markets to keep
growing and continue to pour money
back into the region through the
Mangere Markets Trust.
“We aim to create a family friendly
environment. It’s been going for over
20 years and in that time thousands
of dollars has been put back into the
community.”
For more information about the
Mangere Markets: https://www.
facebook.com/MangereMarkets
Verse of the month: You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who
bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid.

Community Notices
Free Community Fitness
Family friendly, children welcome, building community
relationships through healthy active lifestyle.
Every Saturday morning 7am @ Walter Massey Park
Ring: Tash - 0211663636 or Josh - 0211040382
Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa Pool
The annual Family Fun Day is on February 14th (11-4pm).
Also free Aquacise classes Mon and Wed 11am-12pm.
Wriggle and Rhyme
Mondays 10.30am at the Mangere Town Centre Library.
Wriggle and Rhyme is a fun, free programme that provides
positive movement experiences to stimulate development
of both the brain and body for babies 0 - 2 years.
Mangere Community Law Centre -
Law In A Nutshell
Mangere Community Law Centre is currently offering an
eight-week programme covering a wide-range of legal
topics relevant to our everyday lives. This programme runs
every Wednesday 9:30am – 12:30pm for 8 sessions: Cost:
$40 for the whole course. Dates: February 11 – April 1.
Anamua at the Mangere Arts Centre - Nga
Tohu o Uenuku
Sat 28 Feb 6:00pm / Choir, Vocal Music
Workshop of ANAMUÃ - a personal work by Composer
Poulima Salima inspired by his homeland villages of Safotu
and Faletagaloa-Safune in Savai'i, Samoa. Cost: Free.
Mangere East Rugby League Club - Muster Day
New Registrations Only. Friday 13 February 2015.
4.00pm-6.30pm. Walter Massey Park, Hain Avenue Entrance
Fundview Funding Workshop
Mangere Town Centre Library. Thursday 5 February @ 1 pm
(Funding Relationship Adviser, Funding Information
Services). FREE. Phone 275-9294 for further details.
OneFit Fitness with Jerry and Mary
Their training sessions are intense, fun and everyone is
welcome from different fitness level and age groups.
WHERE: Mangere War Memorial Hall, Mangere Bridge
WHEN: Tuesday & Thursday 5.30-6.30pm and Saturday
7.00-8.00am **Gold Coin per Session**
Sustainability Hui
Anyone who lives, works or plays in the Mangere/Otahuhu
area and who has an interest in sustainability, reducing
waste, gardening, and caring for the environment should
get along to an upcoming Sustainability Hui on February 24,
from 9.30am - 12.30pm at Papatuanuku Marae. For more
info contact Justine on justine@mefsc.org.nz or 0221028195.
NZRL Playgroups
Free for all children aged 0-5yrs.
Hawks Playgroup: Tuesdays & Thursdays 10am-1pm and
4pm-6pm. Mangere East RLFC. Contact Casey 021 247 6975
Magpies Playgroup: Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays
10am-2pm. Contact: Johanna 021 0332727.
Budgeting and Family Support Services
There are now food parcels available. Contact either:
appointments@mangerebudgeting.org.nz / ph: 09 275 2266
NITTY GRITTY
Editor: Justin Latif
Design: Jo Latif
Publisher: Mangere East Family Service Centre
e: 275times@gmail.com f: www.facebook.com/275times