Ko Whakarongorua te Maunga
Ko Hokianga te Moana
Ko Mataetaua te Marae
Ko Ngapuhi te IwiI te taha o toku Whaea
Ko Maunga Piko te Maunga
Ko Parengarenga te Moana
Ko Te Reo Mihi te Marae
Ko Ngati Kuri te Iwi
Ko Ian Kaihe-Wetting toku ingoa
I am of Ngapuhi and Ngati Kuri descent. Born in Kaitāia as the youngest of 10 children. We were raised by our mother in Te Paatu (Pamapuria) after our father died when I was one. My sister still lives in our Papakainga on Fairburns Rd today. 32 years ago I left Kaitāia to study teaching in Auckland. In addition to teaching I’ve worked with the NZ AIDS Foundation, a Primary Health Organisation and at Middlemore Hospital before moving home.
Above and beyond these experiences 20 years ago my partner of now 24 years (and civil partner of eight years) became parents of seven children. Over this time our whānau has grown, with mokopuna spread throughout the country and Australia, we are now expecting our first great grandchild later this year. In 2017 as I was approaching my 50th birthday we decided to rethink our lives in Auckland to determine how we’d like to live the next decade and beyond. Realistically this conversation had surfaced several times over the years but turning 50 was a good milestone to commit to some changes. Therefore, December 2017 we sold our home in Manurewa (where we’d lived for the past 16 years) and moved back to Kaitāia. My husband still works in Auckland (4 days on and 4 days off), while I focus on settling our home, reconnecting with whānau and friends and identifying where best I can contribute to our community.
The Kaitāia Timebank provides an excellent opportunity to participate in the community in a creative and innovative way. Often natural and unrecognised skills and talents we freely exercise daily with whānau and friends can now become exchangeable time credits and a form of currency previously under-appreciated. I’m really excited that alongside offering professional supervision, teaching, group facilitation, mentoring and policy development I can also share my love for cooking, technology, sci-fi and the joy of making coffee for others either in a small group or for large dinner parties. The potential is limitless, and the benefits are incalculable – whatever the next 32 years will bring it is such a privilege to start it off in this way.
To contact Ian about Kaitaia TimeBank workshops and working bees either email him at kaitaiatimebank@gmail.com or via the Kaitaia TimeBank Facebook page.