Auckland Karanga Maha

Shanan Kohi writes about the recent Karanga Maha hui. Shanan is a member of the Auckland LAC, a local advisory committee that advises the CCS Disability Action Auckland on disability issues.

Kia ora koutou katoa,
Ko Shanan Kohi tāku ingoa. My name is Shanan Kohi, I am a part of a roopu called Karanga Maha, which means "Many Voices". This allows our Rangatahi (young people) and other people with a disability that haven't had a voice to speak for themselves, without their loved ones speaking for them. Karanga Maha is also a safe place for them to be themselves. Our dream is to go global, but first we start in our own backyard of Aotearoa. The first Karanga Maha was in Auckland–Northland over 10 years ago. Now we are in Tauranga, Taranaki and Hamilton.

We had a gathering at the end of September and the topic was Rongoā (Māori Medicine). We learned about the different plants we can use for medical purposes. These plants are: Kawakawa (Pepper Tree); Kūmarahou (Gum digger's soap, Golden Tainui); Teteaweka (Daisy Flower); Manukā (Leptospermum scoparium). These plants and trees and many more from the Ngahere (forest) were used in the past by my ancestors and are still used for health problems we experience these days. If you want to find out more, you can look online. 

We also learned about Mirimiri bodywork, a traditional Māori healing practice that rebalances function and releases deeply held tension in the body through agitation of tissue, muscle, bone, blood and fluid.

You can find further information about Karanga Maha here or feel free to contact us.

Arohanui,
Shanan Kohi