Raymond Dunn

About

Kia mauamahara tonu, kaore koe e ngaro, me pehea ki te maumahara.

Always remember, never to forget how to remember - Naa Papa Hohepa Delamare (Papa Joe)

I tipu ake au ki Ngatiwhatua o Oruawharo, i hoea mai i te waka Mahuhu ki Te Rangi, ka huri noa ake o te tangata Tumutumuwhenua.

I come from Ngati Whatua from Oruawharo, bought in by the waka Mahuhu ki te Rangi as a descendant of Tumuwhenua.

My journey before coming to Mauri Ora started a very long time ago.  My grandparents were traditional maori midwives and my mum is a traditional practitioner with rongoa, haputanga and mirimiri.  I was trained in Romiromi by followers of Papa Hohepa.  I was able to use the knowledge of my reo, romiromi and haputanga to complete a Bachelor of Education teaching Kura Kaupapa Maori - however I went into bilingual education and some of our correction facilities.

I was encouraged to return home from Australia and at that time applying for Mauri Ora as a Health Navigator was divine timing - it was the only listing that popped out screaming "RAYMOND! RAMOND!".  My position as a health navigator for Maori and Pasifika students is a role that comes with privilege, just like haputanga, romiromi and rongoa the educational pathway is a birthing process and I look forward to working with many of my co-workers and clients.

In my spare time - I enjoy a good calisthenics session. Since Melbourne had us in lockdown for quite some time I still resort to binge watching some TV shows and listening to some really great kiwi music.