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.

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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

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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