E āki ana te ratonga tangihanga, a Haven Falls, kia riro mā te whānau pani te tūpāpaku e manaaki ai, i te matenga tae atu rā ki te nehunga.
Ko te kaupapa e kīa nei ko ‘Te Korowai o Poutama’ tērā e manaaki nei i ngā whānau pani, kia whai wāhi ai rātau ki ngā whakahaere katoa mō te taha ki te manaaki tūpāpaku.
Hai tā te kaiwhakahaere o Haven Falls ki Tāmaki Makaurau, tā Allen Pukepuke, ko te aronga o te korowai poutama, kia nōhia te taonga o te mate ki tōna whare, ā, mā te whānau tonu a ia e tiaki.
“He kaupapa motuhake, e whakamana ana i ngā whānau, me o rātou ake tikanga mō te tiaki tūpāpaku.”
He aha te tūahu?
Ko te tūahu tētahi moenga mātao e pai ai tā te tūpāpaku takoto tūroro atu ki tōna anō whare, kāre hoki he take o te whakarite i te tūpāpaku
I ahu mai te kaupapa nei i ngā īnoi a ngā whānau pani, kia riro mā rātau anō a rātau tangihanga e whakahaere.
He mea hiko te moenga mātao nei, ā, ka kaha hoki tā Haven Falls āwhina atu i ngā whānau, ki te āta whakarite i ngā tangihanga.
Hai tā Monique Mehana, kaiwhakahaere o te peka ki Whangārei, e taea ai e rātau te āwhina atu i ngā whānau ahakoa te tawhiti o tō rātau noho.
“We will travel out to the whānau whare and build into the kete (package) o ‘Te Korowai o Poutama’ we will travel up to 85 kilometres out to the whare, and from there if it’s a bit further than that, e pai ana, we can definitely still come and facilitate at the whare.”
‘Ko tā mātou he tautoko i ngā whānau’
During the tangihanga process, whānau are often burdened with the costs of a tangihanga and are to provide adequate paperwork to access a funeral grant from Work and Income.
Although this may be a struggle for whānau, Hākopa Te Tai, funeral director of Haven Falls Rotorua, says they are there to assist grieving whānau from start to finish.
“Ko tā mātou he tautoko i ngā whānau e pā ana ki te taha o ngā rata, me ngā ture hoki. Anō hoki, kia kore te whānau e pā ki ngā māuiuitanga i raro i ngā whakapaipai tūpāpaku. Ka tuku mātou ngā mātauranga e pā ana ki ngā mahi o te tūpāpaku.”
Te Tai further adds stressing their close working relationship with Work and Income ensures whānau are in safe hands.
The Korowai o Poutama initiative allows the wishes of the deceased to be carried through the tangihanga process, including the length they remain with whānau in their home.
Te Tai says although Haven Falls funeral directors will be there to assist whānau, their wishes will take priority.
“Mā te tūpāpaku e kawe te tikanga, me te roanga o tōna tangihanga. Engari ka kōrero tahi mātou ki ngā rata e pā ana ki ngā māuiuitanga o te tūpāpaku, ā ka tirotiro hoki mātou ki te tūpāpaku me ōna māuiuitanga, arā, ka kōrero tahi ai mātou ki te whānau, kia whakamārama ai i ngā āwangawanga e pā ana ki tō rātou nei mate.”
Ngā rauemi o te kaupapa
Arā hoki ngā rauemi hai tāpiri atu ki te kaupapa o ‘Te Korowai o Poutama’ pērā i ngā hinu kawakawa, lavender, me ngā taptapu a te kaitiaki tūpāpaku.
Ko tētahi rauemi anō, he waka tūpāpaku pōpopo nei hai āhuru mōwai mō te taonga o te mate.
Hai tā Hēmi Waretini, kaitiaki tūpāpaku, ka tika hoki rā te kaupapa kia riro mā te whānau tō rātau mate e tiaki.
“Ko te whānau te kāururangi mō o rātou tangihanga, erangi kei konei mātou ki te awhi i a rātou, ki te hoatu i ngā taonga me ngā rauemi ki te tiaki i tō rātou haerenga, i tō rātou mate, kia tutuki ai ngā whāinga, i ngā ture anō hoki a te kāwanatanga.”
