275 Times. September 2015

Edition #12
september 2015
275 times
275
times
Celebrating
1 Year!
Our stories, our people, our Māngere
Kōrero paki ō tatou, Tāngata ō tatou, Ngā Hau Māngere ō tatou
FELISE FIGHTS FOR SOUTH'S YOUTH
Discovering an untapped
talent for fighting saved Felise "My
Leniu from a life of crime and
potentially prison.
And now the Mangere College old boy
is trying to turn the youth of South
kids are
my greatest
Auckland around with the same formula
of discipline mixed with combat sports.
And despite running mixed martial arts
motivation."
classes with a number of schools around
South Auckland, Leniu still can walk the
talk and has just competed in the King in
the Ring event which was televised live on
Sky Television. Leniu says you can make
good money in professional fighting but
his ultimate motivation is to do his family
and friends proud.
“My kids are my greatest motivation.
And making a difference in people’s lives
through my gym and in the community.”
Before Leniu took up fighting he first
pursued a dream of playing in the NRL
but after getting nowhere with that he In the ring: Felise Leniu at his MMA Pound Gym in Mangere @ 22 Andrew Baxter Drive
turned to his old childhood mate Mark discipline and it really helped to stop Leniu eventually moved back home and
Hunt for advice.
me going to prison. And as a result of opened his own gym called The MMA
“I was a good league player but it soon becoming a professional fighter I've Pound. And he's started a similar youth
became clear that I was considered too got the opportunity to give back to the programme here in South Auckland.
old so Mark told me to start training with community.”
Leniu says seeing a young person turn
him. It took me another two years before I He started giving back by running a youth their life around is hugely satisfying.
made a name for myself and got a career programme in a rough part of Sydney “I use my story to motivate the youth, to
out of it.”
teaching teenagers the same skills that show the kids that it can be done and that
Leniu says combat sports would prove to had saved him.
anything is possible."
be the key to turning his life around. “I thought how could I relate to these For more info about The MMA Pound
“I was a bit of bad boy growing up
naughty kids, and so I decided to teach go to - www.themmapound.co.nz
in Mangere. But MMA gave me
them kick-boxing.”
or www.facebook.com/themmapound
Out &
about
PROUD: To mark Cook Island Language
week these Jean Batten Primary students
performed a dance to staff and guests.
MATARIKI: To celebrate Matariki the tamariki at Te Puna Whakatupu
o Ngā Kākano o te Mānuka ELC on Canning Cres harvested their crop
of rīwai/potatoes and cooked these in a boil-up.

2
Emily swaps good life for Māngere calling
Selling one’s possessions and
becoming a spiritual leader
might sound like something you
only read about in the Bible.
But for Emily Worman it’s exactly
what she’s just done.
The longtime Mangere resident was
living the good life in the United
Kingdom, with husband Alan, and the
pair readily admit they almost had the
perfect life.
But as things were getting more and
more comfortable the couple felt
a niggle about whether there was
something more for them.
“We were just too happy,” Emily
laughs. “We had just got married, had
great jobs but we thought – if God
wants us to do anything else – we’re
going to be way too comfortable to
leave. Life was awesome – but we just
had a feeling there was something
else out there for us.”
So the pair sold everything they
owned and went a gruelling 40-
day 791 km hike along the famous
Camino de Santiago trial in Spain and
then volunteered in a New Delhi slum
before deciding to visit Emily’s mum,
Naomi Lange in Mangere East.
But instead of heading off again,
they felt led to stay in Mangere,
start a business teaching kids about
CALLED: Emily Worman (right) and husband Alan left the
United Kingdom to take up a new life in Mangere.
the wonders of science and Emily’s
thoughts turned towards going into
Christian ministry.
“
It’s all about engaging
people to each other
and God
“
“I was having lunch with some old
friends and they asked what we were
planning on doing – I was telling them
that I was going to study theology –
and they said why don’t we start a
church – I was like ‘yeah
sure - you guys are crazy’.”
But it turned out not be
such a crazy idea after all
as Emily and Alan began
leading a small gathering
based on the ideas of
creating a Christian church
which valued prayer, allage
worship and being
inclusive for all, including
for those in the LGBTQI
community.
Emily says the organic
nature of this congregation
has seen it ebb and flow
over the last few years,
but she’s now decided
to formalise things by
becoming an ordained
minister with the
Metropolitian Community Church.
Her ordination ceremony will be at
11am, September 26 at the Mangere
East Learning Centre. Emily says her
theology degree has given her the
confidence to help others on their
journey with God.
“I feel I have a calling to help people
connect. It's all about engaging people
to each other and to God.
Visit her church’s Facebook page
at: https://www.facebook.com/
ChurchinProgress
Ph: Robyn or Mary on (09) 255 0144
*conditions apply
NITTY GRITTY
Words: Justin Latif Design: Jo Latif
Publisher: Mangere East Family Service Centre
275times@gmail.com | www.275times.com
www.facebook.com/275times
MANU SAMOA: Samoa's
rugby team trained at Mangere's
own Manukau Rovers Rugby Club
on the 24th of August.
Contact: Tuhin Choudhury

Seeking justice for life
SPEAKER: Lyn Doherty at the Mangere East Community Centre
A life dedicated to
justice has seen Lyn
Doherty go from protester at
Bastion Point to special needs
educator to a psychologist
within government
organisations and now she’s
been invited to share her
story at the internationallyrenowned
TEDx event at
Manukau.
Her most recent
role has seen her
lead a remarkable
parenting programme
at the Mangere East
Community Centre
called Hoki ki te Rito –
Oranga Whanau.
The programme is one
of the many projects
the Ohomairangi Trust,
(a Kaupapa Maori early
intervention service,
not-for-profit NGO)
undertakes, since being
established fifteen years ago
to better support whanau.
And this particular
programme has experienced
significant success helping
families struggling with a
myriad of complex issues.
Lyn says the key to their
success has been helping
families get back to the
basics and re-establish the
parent-child relationship and
she’ll be sharing about this
programme in her Tedx talk.
“It'll be about parenting and
self-development and how
the porgramme has made
a huge impact with many
Luke 18:22
“
We’ve
always
had a
social
justice
focus
to what
we’ve
done.
families.”
The programme has been
running since 2007 but Lyn’s
own work in Mangere began
in 1979 - almost by accident.
Lyn and partner Roger Fowler
were due to have their first
baby when their home in
Ponsonby was condemned.
What resulted was a hurried
house hunt and scraping
“
together a deposit
to buy a place in
Mangere East.
“Four days after
moving in we had our
daughter in a home
birth and at the time
Air New Zealand
was on strike, so our
midwife, who had
been in Gisborne, had
to drive all the way
back to Auckland and
she got here just in time.”
Lyn says the work she
currently does is part
of a wider dedication
to advocating for social
justice in New Zealand and
internationally.
“We’ve always had a social
justice focus to what we’ve
done. We were part of the
Bastion Point occupation and
then when that ended we
found ourselves moving out
here.”
For more information
about Lyn’s Tedx Talk go to:
https://www.ted.com/tedx/
events/16288
To learn more about
Ohomairangi Trust: www.
ohomairangi.org.nz
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When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have
and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
3

Community Notices
T3 Sport & Team Ltd presents the inaugural:
“T3 COMMUNITY BUSINESS EXPO”
Saturday 26th September, Mangere East Hawks Netball Courts,
Hain Avenue, from 10am to 2pm. A great opportunity for all
size businesses in and around Mangere East to showcase their
products or services, create new networks and engage with the
local community. There’ll be a mixture of businesses including
health and sports providers, hospitality and craft makers and
social support services. Stalls are still available, to register your
interest phone Tony on 027 4497900 or email
tony@t3sportandteam.co.nz and check us out at
www.t3sportandteam.co.nz , Facebook and Twitter.
DRIVER LICENCE TRAINING
Free Community Driver Licence Classes for Learner to Full Licence
training. Mangere Community House, 141 Robertson Road,
Mangere, 9.30 am – 11.30 am Thursdays.
Contact David david@ruleeducation.co.nz
FISHING COMPETITION
The Mangere Boating Club presents the “Great Gurnard
Chase” Fishing Competition, 5th September. 1st prize $1000, 2nd
Prize $500, 3rd Prize $300. Prizes Down To 10th and Spot Prizes
Tickets Only $25, $10 Tickets For Junior Section Prizes (Under 15)
available from Mangere Boating Club & Pauls Fishing Systems
Onehunga. For more details and full set of rules contact: Mangere
boating club 09 636 4673 or email mangereboating@xtra.co.nz
ART EXHIBITION
September 5, 10am – 4pm at the Mangere Arts Centre. Mangere
Bridge artist, Gina Amituanai presents an exhibition of recent
paintings which explore Māori mythologies; connecting land and
culture - grounding her identity in the past, present and future.
Admission: Free
Mangere East Community Centre
Free classes starting now: Learners Licence Theory, Korowai &
Tãniko Classes, Te Reo, English for Speakers of Other Languages
(ESOL), Samoan Language, Cook Island Language + many others.
Editorial
Where were you 12
months ago?
This time last year we were
putting the finishing touches
on our first edition of the 275
Times. There was a looming
election, the Southern Cross
girls first XV had just won
their first Auckland title
and White Sunday was just
around the corner. A year
on and Southern Cross have
won back-to-back titles, Su’a
William Sio is now in his third
term as Mangere's electorate
MP and White Sunday and
is just around the corner
again. The last year has seen
campaigns about liquor
licenses and alcohol bans –
with Kenny Qian from Vege
Oasis getting a big thumbs up
from community for cancelling
his license. We’re also seeing
a growing campaign against
the special housing area for
Ihumatao. The last year has
also been one of success
and triumph, whether it’s
been in the academic field
like Faka’anga Uasike with
his six NCEA excellences,
or the Mangere College
winning the Auckland Rugby
League title for a second
year running. And 275 Times
has been there, through it
all, reporting all these great
things, celebrating all that’s
good and great about this
suburb. So thank you - for
sharing your stories, sending
us your community notices,
for placing an ad or two, for
visiting our Facebook page,
for reading the newsletter
at your local takeaway bar
or library and for sharing
a copy with a friend or a
neighbour. And we’re going
to keep bringing you more
good times from Mangere.
So don’t hesitate to get in
touch, because without
you the reader and your
continued support we
wouldn’t be still going after
12 months.
Nga mihi nui,
Justin and Jo Latif
mangere east
Festival
Walter Massey Park
28TH NOV
10AM - 5PM
Be a Stallholder |
performer | volunteer
contact: hone@mangereeast.org 09 275 6161
www.mangereeast.org