Celebrating Matariki, New Beginnings & Kaimahi Success in Kirikiriroa

Both our Tāmaki and Kirikiriroa teams recently came together for a very special day of celebration, reflection and connection.

We began with a mihi to welcome our new Social Worker, Lise, into the Key Assets whānau. We have a few exciting introductions to make from the Hamilton office, so we look forward to formally introducing Lise soon, alongside Bri, who has also recently joined the team and is leading our emergency care pilot.

Before beginning our Matariki celebrations, we took time to honour two of our incredible kaimahi, Suraj and Hima, who have both graduated with Master’s degrees in Social Work. They were presented with taonga in recognition of their hard work, commitment and achievement.

We are incredibly proud of Suraj and Hima and grateful for the knowledge, care and dedication they bring to their mahi, our carers and the tamariki and whānau we support.

After welcoming Lise and sharing some delicious kai, we turned our focus to Matariki. Together, we reflected on its three guiding themes: remembering those who have passed, celebrating the present and looking ahead to the future.

The kōrero brought forward plenty of emotion. It has been a significant year for Key Assets, our kaimahi and our wider whānau. We have farewelled important people, experienced considerable growth and evolution, and reached a place where there is a growing sense of steadiness, confidence and renewed energy for the mahi ahead.

As the celebration took place during the school holidays, we were also lucky to have many of our team’s tamariki and rangatahi join us. It was a beautiful moment as they shared their pepeha and sang a Matariki waiata for everyone.

We love seeing the knowledge and celebration of Matariki being passed through generations and becoming increasingly embraced within our whānau and communities.

It was a truly special day in the Hamilton office, and everyone left feeling connected, energised and excited about what lies ahead for Key Assets in the new year.