275 Times. Mangere Community News. Dec 2014

EDITION #4
DECEMBER 2014
times
275 times
celebrating Māngere through sharing its stories
YOUTH STEP UP TO BRING CHRISTMAS TO THE PARK
YOUTH DRIVEN: From left; Gloria Finau, Wilz Puiri and Naomi Kaleta.
A dream to see Mangere celebrating
Christmas all together is about to
become a reality thanks to a group of
inspiring young people.
A day of fun and Christmas fare for
all ages will be taking place at Centre
Park from midday and into the
evening on Monday, December 22.
It kicks off at 12.30pm with face
painting, free train rides and kid’s
games, then from 4pm there will
be karaoke, line dancing and tai
chi for the nannas, grandpas, kuia
and kaumatua. Things go up a gear
from 6pm to 9.30pm with a concert
of music, culture and dance for the
teens and young adults.
The masterminds behind this
festive extravaganza are Ashlee
Niuia, Andrew Balbe, Khatema
Bakhshi, Priscilla Molesi, Simone
Tomlinson, Wilz Puiri and Gloria
Finau.
Wilz is a rangitahi leader at the
Papatuanuku marae and has got
involved to give something back to
the community.
“It’s an event for the youth, run by the
youth of Mangere,” he says.
“I’m passionate about this because
it’s about giving youth an opportunity
to try something different.”
Gloria was doing a placement with
the Mangere Community House as
part of her AUT University studies
and stayed on after her placement
finished. She says pulling such a
big event together has been hard,
but it could not have been possible
without generous sponsorship from
the Mangere-Otahuhu Local Board,
Mercury Energy and Life church on
Montgomery Drive.
“There’s a lot of pressure to make this
happen, but if this is good we hope
to make it an annual thing."
Providing oversight for the youth
organising this event is the Auckland
Council’s Naomi Kaleta.
“This is really about the journey of
seeing our young people step up
and the event is just the icing on the
cake,“ she says.

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Giving like a king also needs to be wise
EDITORIAL
“We three kings” is a popular
carol that you’ll probably hear
sung around churches and carol
services over this festive season.
It retells that familiar part of the
Nativity story of the three wise men
giving gifts of gold, frankincense and
myrrh to the baby Jesus. Gift giving
is probably the most popular of the
Christmas' practices and whether
you see Jesus’ birth as the Coming
Saviour or not, there’s a good chance
you’ll give or receive some sort of
gift between now and the end of
December.
The act of giving is a beautiful thing,
and on a certain level it requires us
to make a sacrifice of some kind and
show a bit of selflessness to consider
another’s needs. And the best kinds
of gifts are those which are given with
no secret agenda or expectation of
return.
Tradition has it that the wise men in
the biblical story were in fact kings
from a variety of eastern kingdoms
in places like Arabia, Persia and
India. The gifts they brought held
the significance in that they were
what was normally given to a newly
appointed king rather than a newborn
child – obviously showing the
significance of Jesus’ birth. But given
SALESPEOPLE
NOT W ELCO ME H E R E
"Do Not Knock"' stickers which will be
delivered to every letterbox in Mangere.
these guys were also ‘wise’ men they
probably didn’t give something that
was beyond their means.
It is really wonderful so many today
have carried on this practice of
showering loved ones with amazing
gifts. However, the not-so-nice side
to gift-giving is the pressure it puts on
our wallets. Whilst the wise men used
their gifts to welcome a new king,
we shouldn't match their generosity
this Christmas if it’s going to mean
there’s no money for food on the
26th or things like school uniforms
come January. Probably the worst
part of this tradition is the way pushy
salesmen take advantage of our
generous spirits by promising the
latest products with the costs differed
to a later date via a loan.
Whilst these sales people have the
right to enter your property, that
right can be immediately rejected if
you ask them to leave. Their pushy
tactics and the oppressive interest
theycharge on every purchase means
we need the same wisdom as the
'wise' to warn our friends and families
to beware. What is even better is if
we place a “Do Not Knock” sticker on
our letterbox or front door. If salesmen
ignore these stickers then we can
bring a charge against them under
common law.
So where do you get such a sticker?
Su’a William Sio is launching a
campaign to raise awareness about
your right to say “NO” to harassing
salesmen at the Mangere Town
Centre, 130pm, December 18 to
inform the public and give out
stickers.
Contact Su’a office on
mangeremp@parliament.govt.nz or
(09) 275 5345 for more info.
Genesis brings touch of fun to Māngere youth
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Team supreme: The annual Tags Out Touch Tournament saw schools
from across Mangere and beyond come together for the theme of
"WALK the TALK" against bullying. Congrats to Kedgley Intermediate for
winning and thanks to the Mangere-Otahuhu Local Board for making the
day possible and the team at Genesis Youth Trust (pictured above).
Touch: The event took place at House Park.
Dance off: Students battled it out
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Messages of Hope from Sutton Park Primary
3
By Justine Skilling
Messages of hope from Sutton Park
Primary students will form part of
an unique art installation bound for
Silo Park to be shown throughout
of December in Auckland's Wynard
Quarter. The installation is the brain
child of Roots, a collective of creative
entrepreneurs from Otara with a
passion for creativity, sustainability
and community. Building on this
foundation, the installation will
culminate in the creation of a “wave
of hope” woven from 4000 plastic
bottles containing the children’s
messages.
Schools across Auckland were invited
to participate, with twelve taking up
the opportunity. Sutton Park Deputy
Principal Basanti Sathu said the
project fitted well with the school’s
focus on innovation and invention,
with students learning about the
creative uses waste can be put to.
Roots came out to the school for
an initial visit, where they inspired
teachers and students alike with
Art in a bottle: Sutton Park students with one of their recycable creations.
their vision for the project. A total of
526 students from Sutton Park took
part in the project, ranging from new
entrants to year 8s. Each message
was photographed and these will be
projected onto one of the silos as part
of a continual slideshow.
The installation will also include
a timed obstacle course made
from upcycled materials and free
workshops held every Friday,
Saturday and Sunday, from
December 5 -21, between 10am and
2pm at Wynard Quarter in the CBD.
Sowing seeds for our future generation
Centre Co-ordinator: Moana Waa.
By Justine Skilling
Nestled at the base of Mangere
Mountain, the Education Centre is
one of Mangere’s real treasures. It is
not only providing a place for people
to learn food-growing skills and
natural health wisdom, but is also
keeping the stories of the land alive
as an outworking of a vision held by
local iwi, including the late kaumatua
Maurice Wilson.
His granddaughter Moana Waa
has been the co-ordinator at the
Centre for the lastseven years and
is just about to pass the mantle on
to someone new. Moana says her
grandfather wanted stories of local
iwi to be shared with everyone who
visited the area, “to keep the culture
and history alive”.
The Centre offers guided walks
around Mangere Mountain, which
paint a picture of the natural history
of the volcano and how local iwi lived
and survived on and around it for
centuries. A mara kai heritage garden
demonstrates gardening techniques
of old, including the planting, growing,
harvesting and storing of kumara,
potatoes and gourds. A medicinal
garden and associated workshops
give visitors an understanding of how
local iwi traditionally treated illness
and injury. Workshop participants
learn that “people couldn’t just go
to hospital. They had to work with
what they had and rely on nature to
survive”. Traditional herbal medicines
are brewed at the Centre and
available for sale.
The Centre also houses a small
community garden, established with
funding from Counties Manukau
District Health Board. The 10 plots
are leased out, for a small fee, for
22-week periods. The garden bears
the name Toitu Te Whenua, calling
to mind the Maori proverb which
translates as “People come and go
but the land will always remain”. And
the vision of the gardens is for people
to “learn gardening techniques of old,
as an extension of the mara kai”.
The gardens are fully equipped and
ready to go, but more plot holders are
needed.
People who already have some
gardening skills but need space to
grow are encouraged to get in touch
with the Centre and lease a plot for
the season. Community groups and
organisations are also welcome.
Please contact the Centre on
6347305 or mangeremountain@xtra.
co.nz if you’d like to find out more
about the community garden or to
lease a plot this growing season.
If you want to see your ad appear in our next issue, email us or if you'd like to make a donation
to help with printing costs visit: http://www.givealittle.co.nz/cause/275TimesNews

Upcoming Events
Christmas in Centre Park
22 December 2014. Mini Xmas (0-12 Years) 12pm - 3pm,
Forever young for Nanny's & Papa's 4pm-5.30pm, Youth
Xmas 6pm-9.30pm. 141 Robertson Rd Mangere. Contact
(09) 275 4920
Mangere Arts Centre
‘Dead Pigs Don’t Grow on Trees’ finishes on 19 December
with a closing performance starting at 6.30 pm, FREE.
*Both galleries will be closed on the 20 December. They
will reopen on Saturday 17 January with an exhibition
titled, ‘Sign Here’ by photographer Mark Adams.
Social Netball
Every Thursday night @ 7pm Mangere East Hawks Netball
Club, Walter Massey Park. Cost $1 per player per game.
Teams welcome! Enquiries to Tash 0211663636
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 outdoor pool will be opening up for the summer season
from December 13 until the end of March 2015. The pools
are still free entry for all.
Free sports every Wed
Strive are offering a free sports/tag programme @ Moyle
Park, Bader Drive every Wednesday 3.30pm-6pm. Contact
255-0144 or larry.c@strive.org.nz
Community Campaign launch
The Do Not Knock campaign against door-to-door
salesmen will be launched at the Mangere Town
Centre, 1.30pm, December 18. Contact Su’a office on
mangeremp@parliament.govt.nz or (09) 275 5345
NZRL Moyle Park Playroup gather before the Mangere
Bridge parade begins.
NITTY GRITTY
Editor: Justin Latif
Designer: Jo Latif
Publisher: Mangere East Family Service Centre
e: 275times@gmail.com f: www.facebook.com/275times