Nau mai, piki mai, huihuia mai rā koutou ki te whakanui
i te haeatatanga o tētahi rā hou ki runga i Te Pā.
In early 2019, PARS embarked on what was to become an evolutionary journey; one that would see the unfolding of a way forward that strongly positions our organisation as a kaupapa Māori provider, honouring our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and to our tangata and whānau.
Early discovery sessions with the PARS board and team led to the creation of our ecology of care, Te Pā Tūwatawata (Te Pā); the documenting of our determination and dedication to creating a safe and secure environment for Māori to reassert rangatiratanga through the traditional practices of social justice – tikanga and mātauranga Māori.
Having defined our drivers and objectives, our collective vision became clear – PARS exists to provide a living, thriving ecology of care, that heals, restores and transforms our people. With a shared understanding of our objectives into the future, we reflected on how to best deliver on this vision. What followed was a year-long consultation focused on capturing the voices of our people; from the board table through every level of the operation, and externally, to ensure that PARS’ governing guidelines provided a strong foundation for success. The resultant suite of recommendations for changes to our constitution was approved by PARS’ members at our 2020 annual general meeting; fully supporting our commitment to working in accordance with the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and our core values of manaakitanga, wairuatanga, rangatiratanga, arohatanga, whakapapa and whānaungatanga.
The refreshed constitution recognises the distinctive indigenous rights of Māori as tangata whenua, and defines PARS’ culture of inclusiveness, unity and fairness, in which all individuals are valued, treated with dignity, and empowered to achieve their potential. This became the foundation upon which to develop a strategic plan that is based on a Mana Ōrite (shared respect and responsibility) framework. The strategy gives effect to our mission to whakakaha (strengthen and intensify) the cultural, social, economic and political imperatives of whānau – changing one generation at a time through establishing meaningful relationships and transformational partnerships that enhance the mana of our people, in an unrelenting pursuit of equal power, control and authority.
As each stage of the process has come to fruition the next has become clear, and with a robust future-proofed foundation and strategy now in place, we are excited to announce our next step.
From today, 20th May 2022, PARS Inc will officially launch “Te Pā” – a brand that encapsulates our vision, mission and values, and the promise to our people of intergenerational whānau transformation. Our team remain committed to service delivery excellence and our services will continue to grow and evolve to meet the needs of our people.
We want to thank all who have been a part of this journey; our Board and team, our funders and supporters, and most especially – the reason we are here – our tangata and whānau. We would especially like to acknowledge the influence of our tūpuna in the informing and unfolding of this journey.
Kia tupu, kia hua, kia pūāwai ai Te Pā ā muri nei!
Te Pā will grow, develop and flourish long into the future!