New taonga for Bereavement Care Services

A new taonga, or carving, has taken up pride of place in Counties Manukau’s Department of Bereavement Care Services.

The carving is a kaitiaki or guardian called Te Miro which means The Thread.

Bereavement Care Services Team Leader, Reon Scharvi says: “The name Te Miro represents a team of people that create a thread that weaves around our tuupaapaku [deceased ones] and whaanau pani (grieving families), to support them in losing a loved one.

“We are thrilled to have blessed our new taonga, which represents a guardian with two faces, representing the old and the new. It acknowledges our past but also allows us to see forward.”

Te Miro was blessed by Turongo Paki and supported by Luke Tai-Rakena John Ngatai, Reon Scharvi Tuhimata and Hariata Tukiri, a collective of Te Kaahui Ora Maaori Health and Bereavement Care Services.

Our Bereavement Care team assists nearly 1400 whaanau each year, handling the memory of lost loved ones from Middlemore Hospital, the Manukau SuperClinic and the Auckland Spinal Rehabilitation Unit.

The team of six at Bereavement Care are on site 24/7. They work alongside funeral directors, the Coroner’s Office, NZ Police and the NZ Eye Bank.

Reon continues: “We guide and support whaanau through the transition from the Hospital to their communities as well as all legal requirements.

“Our Department provides space for whaanau to gather and also rest their thoughts before they begin the funeral arrangements.

“Bereavement is a sensitive and emotional experience and one that is unique to each whaanau and individual with our role seeing us support families who suffer a pregnancy loss from 12 weeks upwards as well as all deaths within the hospital.”

“We want whaanau whose loved one has passed away here to have a positive start in their grieving process.”

The grieving process changed for many throughout the COVID-19 pandemic but one thing that never changed is Bereavement Care’s commitment to providing whaanau with support.