Celebrating Our Opening Of Stage 2 Dementia And Age-Friendly Facility Upgrade

Hamilton, New Zealand – 6 July 2024: The Rauawaawa Kaumātua Charitable Trust is proud to announce the grand opening of Stage 2 of Te Puna o Te Ora, an innovative and community-based facility designed to support the wellbeing of our Kaumātua. The event will be held on Saturday, 6th July 2024, at 50 Colombo Street, Frankton, Hamilton.

Event Highlights:

Traditional Welcome Ceremony: Join us for a powhiri featuring Karanga, Karakia, and Himene led by esteemed Kaumātua and Kuia.

Ribbon Cutting by the Hon Tama Potaka, Minister of Māori Development, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher will cut the two ribbons to officially open the new facilities.

Stage 2 - Facility Tour: through the upgraded Stage 2 wing led by Kaumātua.

Key Speeches: Hear from key speakers including Chairman, Owen Purcell, Hon Tama Potaka, Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate and funders that supported Stage 2.

Live Streaming Demo: Witness the new technology enabled capabilities of our upgraded facility as we live stream our program.

About the Facility:

Te Puna o Te Ora, located at 50 Colombo Street, Frankton, Hamilton, has been a cornerstone for Māori since it was first opened by the Waikato Maori Hostel Society in 1941. In 2006, the facility was gifted to Rauawaawa Kaumātua Charitable Trust, acknowledging the efforts of Kaumātua at that time in reviving it. The ongoing Facility Upgrade campaign, initiated in 2016, aims to create what has been identified as needed over the more than two decades of service to Kaumātua, that is an age-friendly and dementia friendly community-based facility. Hamilton was the first NZ city to be accredited under the World Health Organisation, Global Age-Friendly Cities Network, this upgrade is one example of the initiatives in place to progress the work being done under that auspice with an additional focus on contributing to the Decade of Health Ageing and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Owen Purcell QSM, Chairman and founder of Rauawaawa Kaumātua Charitable Trust, expressed his gratitude: "The completion of Stage 2 is a monumental step towards providing a secure, supportive, and engaging environment for our Kaumātua. We are deeply grateful to our funders and community partners for their unwavering support."

Rangimahora Reddy, CEO of Rauawaawa Kaumātua Charitable Trust, acknowledged everyone involved: "Today, we celebrate not just the opening of this upgraded facility, but the collective effort, dedication, and heart of everyone who has contributed to this milestone. Our journey has been one of commitment and collaboration, bringing us closer to realising the full vision for our Kaumātua. As we stand at the threshold of our final stage, we acknowledge the hard work that has brought us here and look forward with optimism and determination to achieving our ultimate goal of creating a thriving, age-friendly community for our Kaumātua of today and tomorrow.”

The vision for Stage 3: Te Puna o Te Ora: Leading the Charge with Kaumātua-Led, Technology-Enabled Dementia and Age-Friendly Community Services and Infrastructure.

Expansion of cultural, social, and health impact for Kaumātua beyond the brick and mortar of the building through technology enabled facilities including a gym, education room, and versatile cultural, art, recreation, creative and social enterprise spaces. Including the creation of dementia and age-friendly outdoor areas, mobility scooter charging facilities and much more.

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