Healthy Families South Auckland

02/09/2026

Pacific families, we’d love to hear from you 💛

We’re inviting families in South Auckland who are living with type 2 diabetes or just concerned about the health of you and your family, to join our 8-week Family Plan pilot.

This is about trying some simple family-focused changes, sharing what works and what doesn’t, and helping us create something that better reflects real Pacific family life.

Interested? Leave us a message and we'll you more 🩷

28/08/2026

Healthy Families South Auckland has released Turou Hawaiki: Working Together for a Fairer, Healthier South Auckland, a new report showcasing the partnerships, initiatives and approaches that have helped create healthier environments for whānau and communities.

The report tells the story of how Healthy Families South Auckland has used its position within local government to connect community aspirations with decision-makers and influence change across sectors.

It also reflects on the lessons learned from more than a decade of prevention-focused work, demonstrating why systems change remains critical to addressing some of South Auckland's most complex health and social challenges.

LINK: https://tinyurl.com/yeynv58k

03/08/2026

Good health grows where people live - on the streets where tamariki play, in how far you travel for fresh kai, and in whether local people have a real say in what happens in their neighbourhood.

The King's Fund, a respected UK health research organisation, has featured Healthy Families NZ in a new paper on community-led health around the world. They chose two places for England to learn from: Brazil, and Aotearoa.

What they saw here was communities, Māori and Pacific-led organisations, councils and local partners working together to reshape the everyday things that influence health.

Read more in the comments👇

What's a change in your neighbourhood you've watched whānau make happen?

03/08/2026

Aotearoa can be a place where health is in reach wherever you live - where good kai is affordable and nearby, where tamariki aren't surrounded by marketing for products that harm them, and where local people have a real say in what's sold in their neighbourhood.

When the places people spend their time are well, people can be well. That means more years of good health, more time at home with the people you love - and less pressure on the hospitals and GP clinics we all rely on.

Health Coalition Aotearoa has released its Prevention Brief 2026, looking at the everyday settings that shape our food, alcohol and smokefree environments.

Read more in the comments👇

What would you change about what's available in your neighbourhood?

31/07/2026

Whānau in Motion, delivered by Express Yourself at the Manurewa Leisure Centre, was supported through Healthy Families South Auckland and brought families together for 10 weeks of free hip hop dance sessions.

The programme was designed to create a space where tamariki and their parents could take part side-by-side, building healthy habits and stronger connections through movement.

A South Auckland dance programme is helping tamariki and parents build confidence, strengthen relationships and get active together. Whānau in Motion, delivered by Express Yourself at the Manurewa Leisure Centre, was supported through Healthy Families South Auckland and brought families together fo...

29/07/2026

We are more Than What We Eat!

What if food wasn't just about nutrition?

During our talanoa sessions with Pacific families, we heard stories that reminded us food is so much more than what's on our plate. It carries memories, identity, culture, love, and connection.

One participant shared how eating fish reminds them of their father, a fisherman who worked tirelessly to provide for the family. Every meal now reflects gratitude and the sacrifices their parents made. Another remembered walking home after long days working in the plantations to the smell of a barbeque prepared for the village. Decades later, that same smell still represents belonging, care, and community.

These stories challenge us to think differently about health.
For decades, our health system has largely relied on clinical and behaviour-focused approaches to address chronic illness. While these approaches have an important place, rates of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes continue to rise within many Pacific communities.

At Healthy Families South Auckland, we're asking a different question

-What if we looked beyond nutrition and clinical care?
-What if we better understood the stories, traditions, relationships, and cultural values that shape how people experience food?
-Could a more holistic approach, grounded in community voice and lived experience, help create healthier futures for our people?

Through talanoa, our communities are showing us that food is more than what we eat. It is how we express love, strengthen relationships, honour culture, and care for one another.
Perhaps improving health isn't just about changing what's on the plate. It's also about understanding everything that food represents.

What does food mean to you and your family?
we would like to hear your story.

06/07/2026

“Enterprising Kai is about working with what is already there."

The Enterprising Kai initiative was officially launched with the harvest of several tonnes of kūmara that were then prepared and shared with community groups throughout Auckland to help ensure whānau have access to nourishing kai.

Left to right: Dickie Humphries (Head of Community Impact at Auckland Council), Kuli Taumoefolau (Chair of New Zealand Kahoa Tauleva Trust) and Toleafoa Ray Tuala (Healthy Families South Auckland) Healthy Families South Auckland and Auckland Council recently saw the social, economic and health impac...

25/06/2026

Two worlds of healing, one pathway for our whānau.

You show up to the GP, get your numbers checked, leave with a prescription, maybe a pamphlet and something about it just doesn't feel like it's really for you.

That's not your fault, and it's not the clinic's fault either, it's a system that was never built with our people in mind.

Through our Oranga Whakapapa kaupapa, we've been building something real, a health pathway that doesn't ask our whānau to leave who they are at the door.

The Oranga Hou Wellness Kit is a taonga designed by Whānau of South Auckland specifically for whānau living with Type 2 Diabetes: Rau Rākau, Rongoā, and Te Ara Oranga, all in one place.

Māngere Health has over 2,000 Māori patients enrolled, and we've submitted a formal proposal for them to distribute the kit and refer whānau to Rongoā practitioners alongside their clinical treatment.

These two worlds don't always speak the same language but through whanaungatanga and a lot of good kōrero, something real is taking shape

Every step we take turns this dream into reality, and our whānau are at the heart of it.

If this kaupapa speaks to you, share it, tag someone who needs to see it 🙏🏽

Want to know more? We'd love to show you 👉🏽https://healthyfamiliessouthauckland.nz/two-medicines-one-pathway-building-a-bridge-between-maori-methods-of-wellness-and-western-models-of-care/

23/06/2026

Get ready South Auckland

Move well to feel well coming to you real soon.

What's your go-to way to move when life is busy? 👇

Walking to your letterbox counts. Dancing in your kitchen counts. A stretch before bed counts. Healthy Families South Auckland's initiative starts here.

For many whānau and aiga in South Auckland, the barriers to movement are real - cost, time, transport, confidence. This kaupapa is designed around that reality. No gym membership. No sport registration. No hidden costs. Just movement that fits around real life, starts at home, and costs nothing.

Story in the comments 👇

26/05/2026

Wānanga mode activated. Te Tii Marae, Ngāti Rehia.

Kāhui Māori o te motu 2026.