It’s time to take action together

Does it really, as the old saying goes, take a village to raise a child? And if so then when children and or people and families fall through the cracks, should we just look to government or the police or the social services agencies, which we all know work with their own limits or should we look back to the village? As we sip our coffees and peruse through the daily newspaper in the morning, again and again we see the cracks appearing in our villages in our communities, with a sense of absolute frustration as to how to remedy the situation Often our first response is to look to who should be responsible for picking up the pieces. Or out of sheer frustration with a lack of justice, a lack of response or accountability we close our doors, close up our lives and hurt. Because people are hurting. When the sanctity of their home and property is invaded by theft they hurt. When a crime is committed against those they love, they hurt. Right across our communities here in Rarotonga and sadly in the pa enua, people are hurting. And as we read of a man sentenced this week for the most terrible crimes against the young and vulnerable, people are hurting. And one has to ponder as I did, what help is there for those poor victims in that broken community, victims of these terrible crimes. Who is responsible, where is the justice, and what is going to be done about it, are questions that seem to be circulating and resonating for too many people in our communities at the moment. It’s not just the potholes in the road that are of great concern, in fact it is the potholes left in people’s lives that need attention. And yet where or how do we get the respite we need for these social ailments? What do we do when we feel hopeless, or helpless in our situation and there doesn’t seem to be the help we so desperately need? We can target the layers of government, and yes, questions need to be directed there because some of these agencies have a mandate to respond to these social ills. But again, can I suggest as we look outwards and look to others to remedy our situation, we forget one vital part of the answer and that part of the answer is closer then we think. Because that part of the answer is you and me. If it actually does take a village to raise a child, then maybe the answers have always been in the village, in our communities, in our neighbourhoods, in our cluster of homes, in our relationships in our families and in our hands. As we have looked to others, have we negated our own power and agency to effect change in our own locality because “love” has always been a verb, something demonstrated, but never just a description of deep connection. Sometimes we acknowledge society has changed. We notice children’s values have changed and we blame Facebook, mobile devices and a changing world for this divergence. But we forget that we can still influence that world around us and we can be agents for change if we do what we have always done, and work together. A village is a group of people that not only live next to each other. It is also a group of people who live love and work together, because that is their choice. They know their neighbours, they care what happens to their children, they respond to cries for help from over the fence, they watch and are attentive to who comes in and out of their street and driveway. Maybe the need is to strengthen our villages, to strengthen our communities because a strong village, with the tools to make change -namely the people in it, will bring the change we so desperately seek. And village means everyone, absolutely everyone in that village and that community, those clusters of people who call these villages home. When was the last time we had our neighbours or a collective of houses over for dinner? When did we last go over for a coffee, or take notice of children crying or home alone, or a mama sitting there alone all day every day, week after week. When was the last time we met as a community to address issues in our community, taking advantage of the power we have together. Or are we just too busy? Have we stopped caring, have we stopped noticing, have we stopped functioning as a village? Do we now live in a little bubble, once in a while looking over the fence and making assumptions about the neighbours we know little about, and haven’t taken the time to care? “Busy”, is the default answer we give to everything nowadays. But can we really afford to be too busy to care? Let us together take the simple step of taking time with those around us. Let us together build the village so it is strong and robust and most importantly, so that it cares. Spend some time this week with your neighbour; meet with the cluster of houses in your area, and be part of the village you want it to be, because the power has always been ours to make it so. We are going to address some of these issues in Puaikura next week. We will be looking to work together in our village with those who are willing. We will build together with anyone who wants to join us. Because together we have always been stronger, and we have to do something. I enjoy working and discussing how we can build a stronger country and community much more than I do discussing to distracting questions of nationalism. This country’s first premiere, Albert Henry, once said, “No-one in the tribe gets left behind”. I am going to take him at his word, because no-one, means no-one. - Thomas Tarurongo Wynne

Does it really, as the old saying goes, take a village to raise a child? And if so then when children and or people and families fall through the cracks, should we just look to government or the police or the social services agencies, which we all know work with their own limits or should we look back to the village? As we sip our coffees and peruse through the daily newspaper in the morning, again and again we see the cracks appearing in our villages in our communities, with a sense of absolute frustration as to how to remedy the situation Often our first response is to look to who should be responsible for picking up the pieces. Or out of sheer frustration with a lack of justice, a lack of response or accountability we close our doors, close up our lives and hurt. Because people are hurting. When the sanctity of their home and property is invaded by theft they hurt. When a crime is committed against those they love, they hurt. Right across our communities here in Rarotonga and sadly in the pa enua, people are hurting. And as we read of a man sentenced this week for the most terrible crimes against the young and vulnerable, people are hurting. And one has to ponder as I did, what help is there for those poor victims in that broken community, victims of these terrible crimes. Who is responsible, where is the justice, and what is going to be done about it, are questions that seem to be circulating and resonating for too many people in our communities at the moment. It’s not just the potholes in the road that are of great concern, in fact it is the potholes left in people’s lives that need attention. And yet where or how do we get the respite we need for these social ailments? What do we do when we feel hopeless, or helpless in our situation and there doesn’t seem to be the help we so desperately need? We can target the layers of government, and yes, questions need to be directed there because some of these agencies have a mandate to respond to these social ills. But again, can I suggest as we look outwards and look to others to remedy our situation, we forget one vital part of the answer and that part of the answer is closer then we think. Because that part of the answer is you and me. If it actually does take a village to raise a child, then maybe the answers have always been in the village, in our communities, in our neighbourhoods, in our cluster of homes, in our relationships in our families and in our hands. As we have looked to others, have we negated our own power and agency to effect change in our own locality because “love” has always been a verb, something demonstrated, but never just a description of deep connection. Sometimes we acknowledge society has changed. We notice children’s values have changed and we blame Facebook, mobile devices and a changing world for this divergence. But we forget that we can still influence that world around us and we can be agents for change if we do what we have always done, and work together. A village is a group of people that not only live next to each other. It is also a group of people who live love and work together, because that is their choice. They know their neighbours, they care what happens to their children, they respond to cries for help from over the fence, they watch and are attentive to who comes in and out of their street and driveway. Maybe the need is to strengthen our villages, to strengthen our communities because a strong village, with the tools to make change -namely the people in it, will bring the change we so desperately seek. And village means everyone, absolutely everyone in that village and that community, those clusters of people who call these villages home. When was the last time we had our neighbours or a collective of houses over for dinner? When did we last go over for a coffee, or take notice of children crying or home alone, or a mama sitting there alone all day every day, week after week. When was the last time we met as a community to address issues in our community, taking advantage of the power we have together. Or are we just too busy? Have we stopped caring, have we stopped noticing, have we stopped functioning as a village? Do we now live in a little bubble, once in a while looking over the fence and making assumptions about the neighbours we know little about, and haven’t taken the time to care? “Busy”, is the default answer we give to everything nowadays. But can we really afford to be too busy to care? Let us together take the simple step of taking time with those around us. Let us together build the village so it is strong and robust and most importantly, so that it cares. Spend some time this week with your neighbour; meet with the cluster of houses in your area, and be part of the village you want it to be, because the power has always been ours to make it so. We are going to address some of these issues in Puaikura next week. We will be looking to work together in our village with those who are willing. We will build together with anyone who wants to join us. Because together we have always been stronger, and we have to do something. I enjoy working and discussing how we can build a stronger country and community much more than I do discussing to distracting questions of nationalism. This country’s first premiere, Albert Henry, once said, “No-one in the tribe gets left behind”. I am going to take him at his word, because no-one, means no-one. - Thomas Tarurongo Wynne