Leading from the front issuu

THE POWER OF CONNECTION
by wendy lee
Following my teacher training in Auckland, I returned
to Napier at the beginning of the 70s, to teach at the
Onekawa Kindergarten, my first teaching position. I
came as a very enthusiastic and idealistic young person
with a strong sense of social justice developed through
involvement with the Kindergarten Teachers Association
and union politics.
I soon met Pat Magill, a Napier businessman, and was
struck by his deep sense of social justice. He was deeply
committed to Māori youth and the community of Napier
and he encouraged and supported me to become engaged
in the activities of the Downtown Y. This was to
have an enormous impact on my values and my life as
these were very formative years for me as a young person
learning about life and living in Napier.
Pat stood out because of his true commitment to local
community, his deep concern and interest in taking
action and his strong advocacy for change over issues
of violence and the need to reform the criminal justice
system. Each summer, as part of the YMCAs wider
programme, we would take young people from social
welfare homes on a five-day trek around Lake Waikaremoana.
This experience was transformative for us all.
While walking and camping in the native forest, we experienced
the feeling of calm and wonder that the natural
world brings. The power of hikoi, which has been one
of Pat’s central processes, was also evident. He always
understood the power of connection, and the importance
of bringing people together. The Waikaremoana
treks allowed us to talk deeply, to learn more about each
others lives, and through this, to know ourselves better.
We learned to better respect ourselves and the natural
world of which we are an integral part.
He kura tangata e kore
e rokohanga, he
kura whenua ka
rokohanga.
This whakataukī talks about the treasured passions
of men that are intangible and the treasures of the land
that are tangible. In a world where people and their possessions
have no permanence, the land remains as the
“He was unlike any other
businessman that I had
met. He challenged other
leaders in the community
to help find the resources
and if they couldn’t he
often contributed his
own. I know others of
his generation found this
challenging and some were
at times disparaging. But
this did not deter Pat”.
one possession, which never changes, nor is ever destroyed.
Pat put this whakataukī into action. Young people
were encouraged to learn about the natural world
around them and how this weaves together with Māori
belief about the interconnectedness of people and the
earth we all came from. All things are united through
mauri (life force) and the concept of hauora (total well-
Above: Wendy and friends travel north to Wairoa one weekend; to ancestral land for some. Access to valued local places is often
fundamental to building cultural identity.
Napier YMCA transformed and the Downtown Y is born 83