Mental Health Awareness Week at GI Library
On Monday 12 October, to kick off Mental Health Awareness Week, Ren and baby Ailān ran a session with the community at Glen Innes Library. It ended up as one of those mornings where you wish you could bottle the feeling and take it home... So we did the next best thing: everyone made a kete to carry it in.
My Wellbeing Kete
The activity was simple on purpose. Everyone chose a paper bag from a selection Ren had saved up to reuse, then decorated it to make it their own. Each kete was then filled with personalised cards that people made themselves.
The cards were based on the five pou of te whare tapa whā: taha tinana (body), taha hinengaro (mind), taha wairua (spirit), taha whānau (people) and whenua (roots and belonging). Each pou came with gentle prompts like "What fills my cup?", "Someone I can call when I need support" and "One thing I will do for myself this week".
Everyone did something a little different. Some people wrote, some drew, some did one sentence for each you, one person focused on just one of the pou, and some of us got very serious about our kete decorations. Nobody was marked on their artwork.
Kōrero while our hands were busy
While we worked, the kōrero flowed. We talked about what wellbeing means for us, what a healthy relationship looks and feels like, and a bit about the mahi of The HEART Movement, and our upcoming Mana Wāhine Symposium. Doing something with our hands sometimes makes the big topics a bit easier to talk about.
We were also really happy to see a number of our local board members - Maria, Nerissa and Dianna - drop in and get involved. It meant a lot to have them sitting alongside everyone else, chatting and getting into the session, they said they don’t often get a chance to pause and reflect. It was a good reminder that wellbeing is something we build together as a community.
A poem from Juan
Drawing the session to a close, we went around and shared what we felt comfortable to do so. One of the highlights was Juan, a staff member at GI Library, who came in on his day off just to join us. He wrote a beautiful poem about what wairua means to him, and shared it with the group, and it was a special moment for everyone. Thank you, Juan, for your generosity and for trusting us with your words.
Ngā mihi nui
Everyone left with a kete and a handful of reminders to keep somewhere handy for the days they need a boost. By every measure we could think of, it was a success all round, and a lovely start to the week.
Ngā mihi nui to Sharon, Juan and Katie at GI Library, to Ailān for being our littlest team member, and to every person who came through the door to make, share and kōrero with us.
Want to bring a HEART wellbeing session to your organisation or community group? Get in touch at kiaora@heartmovement.org.nz
