Reconnecting people, purpose and prevention
As 2025 draws to a close, Healthy Families South Auckland – The Cause Collective, reflects on a year defined by connection, to each other, to our whakapapa, and to the systems that shape our everyday wellbeing. Across every strand of our work, from Oranga Whakapapa to Mental Health & Wellbeing, Food Systems and Movement & Sport, the heartbeat has remained the same: shifting prevention from something that happens to our communities, to something that happens with them.
This year, we’ve seen the power of co-design in action, not as a process, but as a way of being. Through our Oranga Whakapapa kaupapa, whānau have taken the lead in reimagining how Māori health is understood and supported. Grounded in mātauranga Māori and guided by wānanga across Māngere and Manurewa, whānau helped design and test a prevention model that blends rongoā, movement, and kai. The resulting prototype ‘Oranga Hou, Oranga Whakapapa’ has reignited pride and agency among those living with Type 2 diabetes. In 2026, this kaupapa will enter general practices for testing, marking a significant step toward embedding kaupapa Māori approaches within mainstream health delivery.
In our Mental Health & Wellbeing work, the ‘Kōrero Mai’ initiative continued to grow roots across homes and communities. What began as a simple deck of conversation cards has evolved into a movement that’s helping parents and rangatahi reconnect through honest kōrero. Families are using the cards to talk about emotions, identity, and belonging, courageously breaking generational cycles of silence. It’s a reminder that sometimes the most powerful form of prevention begins with listening.
Our Food Systems work has deepened understanding of how culture and kai intersect in shaping health. Through talanoa with Samoan church congregations, participants unpacked not only the practical barriers to healthy eating, but also the emotional and spiritual connections that food carries. These conversations revealed that true change happens when health becomes a collective value, one shared across families, churches, and schools. As we move into the prototype phase, we’re excited to test community-led solutions that honour tradition while building new, healthier food narratives for future generations.
Movement & Sport has remained at the centre of our prevention story, reminding us that movement is medicine, but also identity. Through partnerships with Brown Pride and Auckland Rugby League, we’ve seen movement redefined as culture in motion. Whether its church leaders guiding Tulai Mai sessions, or rugby clubs transforming into hubs of connection and belonging, movement is becoming woven into the rhythm of everyday life. Even within our own team, an internal step challenge proved that small, consistent actions, taken together, can shift how we think, feel, and show up.
Across all this mahi, a clear thread runs through: prevention happens in the places we live, learn, work, play, and pray. It’s built in relationships, held in culture, and sustained through leadership that reflects our people. As we look to 2026, our focus turns to testing, scaling, and deepening what’s working, embedding these prototypes in GP clinics, marae, schools, sports clubs, and churches to strengthen the prevention system from within.
This year has shown that real change doesn’t always start with policy, it starts with people. And in South Auckland, our people are leading the way.