Nau mai, haere mai, mai ki Te Waipuna Puawai

Whakamana te oranga wairua o te tangata me te whenua.

Welcome to Te Waipuna Puawai – a thriving community development initiative based in Tāmaki, Rānui and Glendene in Tāmaki Makaurau.

Guided by the principles of Catherine McAuley and the mahi of the Sisters of Mercy, Te Waipuna Puawai has its origins in the first Mercy House in Waddell Ave, Glen Innes.  This was started when the Sisters were invited by wāhine looking for support and professional development. Since 1999, Te Waipuna Puawai’s vision has been to create spaces that serve our communities, foster the wellbeing of whānau, and restoration of the earth.

Together, with the Sisters of Mercy and our community members, we build pathways of success and positive change for our whānau, embracing a collective, holistic, family and community-based approach.

In particular, we provide community education classes and programmes to address the need of women in the local community. Through self-development and culturally based programmes, we focus on physical, mental, spiritual and whānau well-being. The work we do in the community is at the forefront of our mission.

Our programmes and initiatives are guided by three core themes:

• Papatūānuku – fostering earth awareness and responding to the call to heal the environment.
• Te Tiriti o Waitangi – a commitment to Te Tiriti and working in ways that work for Māori whānau and communities.
• Tikanga Atawhai – practicing Mercy Values.