Te Ara Ririki: Pathways to Healing in Taranaki
by Ngaropi Cameron
Ngaropi Raumati (Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, Te Ātiawa Nui Tonu)
Ngaropi is a mother of five and kuia to nine mokopuna. She is the foundation member, Director and Senior Family Violence Programme Facilitator and Educator, community researcher and co-creator of the Tū Tangata Whenua: Masterclass in Active citizenship programme ( https://www.tutamawahine.org.nz/masterclass ) for Tū Tama Wahine o Taranaki Inc. (TTW). TTW is a tangata whenua (indigenous) development and liberation service working to ensure that Taranaki whānau have a secured sense of identity and connection to each other, where all are able to contribute in the maintenance of a peaceful, prosperous community -www.tutamawahine.org.nz. TTW is a Whānau Ora provider of social justice services within the Taranaki region of Aotearoa (New Zealand).
Ngaropi is a member of the national Māori advisory group Te Rōpū for the Government’s Joint Venture Business Unit, which is tasked with helping to transform the whole-of-government response to family and sexual violence. She has been involved in numerous local and national community development projects implementing a variety of kaupapa Māori services, trainings and resources. She is a former member of the Ministry of Justice Domestic Violence Programme Approvals Panel, two terms; a former member of the Māori Reference Group to the National Taskforce on Family Violence; and former member of the central region Family Violence Death Review Panel. Ngaropi is a former general and obstetric nurse, whānau/hapū/iwi (family and tribal) practitioner and current member of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors (NZAC). She has worked in health and social justice in a variety of environs for 40+ years and is a recipient of The Nursing Network on Violence Against Women International Award 2011.
Research projects include: Understanding the Origins of Whānau Violence in Taranaki, He Mokopuna He Tupuna: Investigating Maori Views of Childrearing Amongst Iwi in Taranaki, Tu Ka Ora: Traditional Healing Stories from Taranaki, He Waipuna Koropupū: Taranaki Maori Wellbeing and Suicide Prevention, Te Ara Rīriki: Pathways to Healing in Taranaki, He Oranga Ngakau: Māori Approaches to Trauma Informed Care. Ngaropi is also a contributing author (with Prof. Leonie Pihama) to For Indigenous Minds Only: A Decolonization Handbook, with the chapter Kua Tupu Te Pa Harakeke: Developing Healthy Whānau Relationships http://tinyurl.com/mrzzyze.
In 2019, in commemoration of the 30 year anniversary of Tū Tama Wahine o Taranaki a photographic exhibition of Taranaki wahine pūkauae (women with traditional tattoo markings) who have close connections with the organisation was commissioned. Ngaropi is one of 18 women featured and is pictured below in front of an image of her great grandmother and ancestors of her homelands.
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