Oniho35

10/06/2026

It was great to finally get home last night after four intense weeks serving our Hauiti whānau across the Uawa region. While it's always rewarding being out in the community, there's nothing quite like coming home to my young tamariki who have to share their dad with the wider Ngātiporou whānau whānui. A special thank you to Hana Pilkington from Dental for All Aotearoa for the oral health resources waiting for us. As we draw closer to the election, it's important that our MPs and political parties hear directly about the oral health challenges facing whānau across Tairāwhiti. These resources will help us continue that kōrero with Cushla Tangaere-Manuel MP, Dana Kirkpatrick MP for East Coast, Jo Luxton MP, Haley Maxwell and Jordan Walker as we advocate for better access to dental care and healthier futures for our people across the 35.

Next week we'll be based at Manaaki Matakāoa, Te Araroa, so we'll be heading back through to Te Whare Hauora o Te Aitanga a Hauiti, Tolaga Bay shortly to move our waka and get ready for the next chapter of our East Coast journey. The 35 will endure long after we're gone, and so will our kaupapa of ensuring our whānau can access the oral health care they deserve.

04/06/2026

23/05/2026

It has been an intense but rewarding two weeks promoting oral health at "Pae o Te Riri is the name of our school", TKKM o Te Waiu o Ngati Porou, Te Waha O Rerekohu, Kawakawa Mai Tawhiti, Rangitukia - Taperenui a Whatonga School and Ngata Memorial College Official Site.

In the last two weeks Erana Reihana, Ariana Clarke, Shyla-Drew Taiapa and Whiti Ora Tairāwhiti - The Coast spent time with our tamariki using plaque disclosing dye — a simple but powerful way to show where plaque is building up around the teeth and gum line (the last place we want plaque sitting).

Sugar feeds the bacteria in our mouths, creating plaque that, if left there too long, can lead to sore gums, infection, and holes in our niho. But seeing plaque for yourself changes things. It helps our tamariki and rangatahi visualise not only the importance of brushing — but brushing with quality.

Taking a few minutes every day to properly brush your niho is about more than oral health. It’s about discipline, looking after yourself in the present, and building healthy habits for the future. We challenged our tamariki and rangatahi to do this every day for one month — to build consistency and show what small daily actions can do over time.

But for us, this kaupapa is much bigger than teeth.

At Oniho35, we want a future where our mokopuna — long after we’ve departed this world — live lives free from pain and free from tooth decay. A future where losing teeth is no longer normal.

This is a 1000-year vision for us.

Āe, we support our adult whānau in pain right now because that mahi matters. But our kaupapa has never been about simply taking teeth out, drilling, and filling. Our kaupapa is about prevention, our pēpī, our tamariki, our rangatahi, and the mokopuna who are not even born yet.

That’s why we support kaupapa and rōpū that strengthen our reo and identity as Māori, build connection across the East Coast, reconnect whānau to te taiao, support healthy housing, promote initiatives that break the cycle of intergenerational poverty, and help whānau into meaningful mahi and futures with purpose.

Because reclaiming the mana of the waha is bigger than oral health — it’s about strong, connected, thriving generations long after we are gone. ❤️

19/05/2026

This is Rangitakaia Maaka .

He is one of hundreds of tamariki and rangatahi across the East Coast suffering daily with toothache and being let down by a system legally responsible for protecting the oral health of our most vulnerable. A child who should never have had to sit in pain while adults, contracts, and systems failed to reach him.

Today we sat down with Hauora Māori Services, Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora, and Health NZ - Tairāwhiti to ask a very direct question: how is this acceptable?

We challenged why tamariki are still missing out on free dental care, why hapū māmā and whānau with Community Services Cards are expected to travel up to six hours round trip to Gisborne — often paying their own travel costs — just to access free dental care they are entitled to, and why an Auckland-based dental provider managing rangatahi and tamariki in pain continue to hold the confidence of the System despite our concerns that less than 25% of rangatahi contracted to be seen were reached, while tamariki in pain across the Coast continue to live in pain despite that provider being paid to care for them. These are not just numbers — these are our babies, our mokopuna, our tamariki sitting awake at night in pain, living on painkillers and antibiotics, missing kura, struggling to eat, smile, or simply be kids.

Ngā mihi to our new hospital manager, Nicola Barrington, and Regional directors Janice Eketone and Nicola Ehau for fronting up after months of intense scrutiny to engage in some hard kōrero. But now comes the hard part: accountability, action, and care that actually reaches our people.

17/05/2026

Today we parked up at Te Whare Hauora o Te Aitanga a Hauiti in Tolaga Bay, ready for our next chapter. It’s been a big week for the team — Wiremu Reihana was in Invercargill supporting our whanaunga Manu Aroha Walker and her Kaitiaki Niho kaupapa, while Erana Reihana and Ariana Clarke were alongside Whiti Ora Tairāwhiti supporting the sharing of sexual health and oral health mātauranga at TKKM o Te Waiu o Ngati Porou and Ngata Memorial College Official Site.

On Monday we begin our collaboration with Hauiti Hauora, providing much needed dental support for the whānau of Hauiti and surrounding communities. If you need urgent dental mahi, please complete the online form linked below. We’ll be assessing who is eligible for free support, but even if you don’t qualify, we’re here for the next 4 weeks and will do our best to support as many whānau as possible.

If you’re in pain, struggling to access care, or have been putting dental treatment off, reach out.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf1NUCmWA93muQzk4K4bbVXG3tIaBeFk1achM7dJ3294BeoAg/viewform

15/05/2026

Massive mihi to Te Whare Hauora o Te Aitanga a Hauiti for supporting this initiative for our Uawa whānau. We know too many of our people are living with pain and barriers to accessing dental care. If you or someone you know is struggling with toothache, infection, or urgent dental issues, register now so we can start triaging and supporting those most in need. ❤️🦷

🦷 ADULT DENTAL SUPPORT 🦷

Te Aitanga a Hauiti Hauora and Oniho35 are collaborating to offer limited one-off urgent dental support for adults in Uawa experiencing dental pain, infection, or urgent dental issues.

📍 Oniho35 Mobile Dental Clinic @ Hauiti Hauora
📅 18–20 May & 25–27 May

If you or someone in your whānau is struggling with:
• Tooth pain or infection
• Broken or decayed teeth
• Difficulty eating, sleeping, or functioning
• Financial, transport, or access barriers to care

All interested applicants must complete the eligibility assessment form to help assess urgency, eligibility, and access barriers. Please follow the link below:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf1NUCmWA93muQzk4K4bbVXG3tIaBeFk1achM7dJ3294BeoAg/viewform?usp=header

Please note whānau:
Completing the form is an expression of interest only and does not guarantee treatment. Due to limited spaces and resources, applications will be assessed case by case based on urgency, eligibility, and level of unmet need. Priority will be given to whānau experiencing the greatest barriers to accessing care.

22/04/2026

Big week at EIT Ruatoria Learning Centre 🙌🏽

Ngā mihi nui to the team for backing our kaupapa to improve access to dental care for whānau across the Coast. Special shout out to Koka Ngaire Keelan for opening the doors and keeping things running smooth, and to the brother Tihema Waenga for sharing your time with us.

Tāne mā — if you need dental support, get in touch 💯

Mean to see EIT investing in our rangatahi with pathways like carpentry and engineering. This is how we grow hapū rangatiratanga — by growing our own.

And just quietly… this is our crazy dream 👀
A dental school on the East Coast.
Guided by Ngātiporoutanga.
Hapu-led and hapū owned.
Studies are taught in te reo Nāti.
We prioritise our mātauranga over Western knowledge.
We grow our rangatahi into our future oral health workforce.
So funders… we’re putting it out there.
Come walk alongside us.
You heard it here first.

21/04/2026

Kia ora whānau

If your child or teenager is in pain — your first choice is to contact Whānau Smiles 📞 027 570 5312.
They are funded to provide urgent dental care for our tamariki and rangatahi.

For routine check ups for our under 12 year olds call 0800 MYTEETH to book or check when they’re in your area. For our rangatahi contact Whānau Smiles.

Although we don’t get funded, if your child or rangatahi is in pain, you’re still welcome to bring them in — we’ll help where we can.

Need support? Kōrero mai — we’re here to advocate so our tamariki and rangatahi get seen, and seen on time.

20/04/2026

12/04/2026

Kia ora whānau, Oniho35 will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday this week. It is with a heavy heart we share that Erana Reihana 's grandmother, Mere Stewart (née Puhipuhi) of Uawa and Rangitukia, passed away yesterday at Health NZ - Tairāwhiti Gisborne Hospital. Our whānau will be bringing her home to Tolaga Bay once arrangements are confirmed.

To those with appointments, we will be in touch shortly to reschedule, and to those waiting to be booked, we will connect with you soon. Ngā mihi for your understanding — moe mai rā Nan 🤍