Ko wai mātou?
Kaimahi - team:
Maire Kipa
Pou Tokomanawa
She/Her/Ia
He uri ahau no Ngai Tahu, Ngati Tūwharetoa, Ngati Kahungunu, Ngai Tuhoe. Ko Karen toku Whaiaipo, ko MJ raua ko Dante taku tama, he tamaiti whangai.
My name is Maire Kipa, my pronouns are she/her. I am proud of my whakapapa, the essence of which is tuturu Ira Tangata, Ira Takataapui.
With over 30 plus years contributing to Hauora Takataapui I learned that every generation of Takataapui leaves a legacy of hope, justice and truth to pass on to the next. I've seen a lot of change in my time and more still to come! I'm always mindful of the whakatauki 'Ka whawhai tonu matou mo ake tonu' - a struggle without end.
My intentions for 2024 are to be on purpose for passing on Takataapui stories, of living, loving and transforming Aotearoa. Tihei mauri ora!
Kahu Tumai
Kaiwhakahaere Matua
She/her/Ia
He uri tēnei nō Waikato Tainui, ko Ngāti Naho rāua ko Ngāti Pou ōku hapu, ko Maurea rāua ko Horahora ōku marae. Nō Whangārei au, kei Ōtautahi tōku kainga inaiānei. Ko Khye taku whaiāipo, ko Jamie taku tama, Ko Kahu au. Tīhei Mauri Ora!
Kahu Tumai is a wahine takatāpui residing in Ōtautahi, Aotearoa, with her spouse, Khye, and her son, Jamie. Kahu is driven to empower and tautoko rangatahi Takatāpui and founded Mana Tipua Mana Ora - a kaupapa Māori LGBTQIA+ youth service in 2023. Kahu previously worked with Te Whatu Ora as a Youth and Sexual Health Promoter, and with InsideOUT Koaro as Kaiwhakahaere Takatāpui. Kahu has a first class B.A. Hons in Cultural Studies, and a B.A in Māori and Indigenous Studies with a minor in Human Services. She also writes from Māori and queer perspectives with a focus on bodies and lived experiences. She won the 2022 Story Inc prize for poetry. Her writing can be found in Mayhem Magazine, Tupuranga Journal, Takahē magazine and Pantograph Punch.
Vanessa Karakia-Kore Gray
Kaitautoko & Kai Tahu Liaison
Ia/She/They
He uri ahau o Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe, Kāi Tahu, Rangitāne, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Aitanga-ā-Māhaki, Ngāti Kōtimana, Ngāti Pākehā, Ngāti Wīwī, Ngāti Hūrai hoki. Ko Vanessa (Nes) Karakia-Kore Gray taku ikoa. Ko takatāpui ahau. Mauri ora!
Nes Karakia-Kore brings experience in community development, urban design, project co-ordination, performing and screen arts and mental health. They are invested in the landscape and people within the takiwā and have based the majority of their life and career as takatāpui in Ōtautahi. Nes has a degree in Broadcasting Communications and diploma in Te Arataki Manu Kōrero Māori - Language, Customs & Culture and Digital Video Post-Production. Underpinning the variety of work they have been involved in is their ability to create positive transformational experiences and environments that are mana enhancing and inclusive.
Khye Hitchcock
Kaiwhakahaere Pakihi
They/Them
No Ingarangi ōku tūpuna, ko te Tiriti o Waitangi tōku waka. I whānau mai au i Whanganui, heoi, kei Ōtautahi tōku kāinga ināianei. Ko Kahu tāku whaiāipo, ko Jamie tāku tama. He Tangata Tiriti ahau, he tangata irawhiti ahau. Ko Khye Hitchcock tōku ingoa.
Khye is a first generation Pākehā; their ancestors are from Britain and they were raised in Whanganui and have called Ōtautahi Christchurch home since 2015. Khye lives with their wife, Kahu, and their son Jamie. They are queer and trans and have been out, and advocating for rainbow rights since 2004.
Khye’s role is Kaiwhakahaere Pakihi; they manage the administrative side of the organisation, utilising their experience in non-profits, health and safety, communications, and funding management. They are frequently ringawera at Mana Tipua events.
Kiwa Kahukura Denton
Kaimahi Taiohi
He/They/Ia
He uri tēnei nō Ngāti Rārua, Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Kahungunu hoki.
Nō Motueka au, kei Ōtautahi tōku kainga inaiānei.
Kiwa Kahukura Denton is a tāne takatāpui youth worker that has been living in Ōtautahi since 2018. They completed a Diploma of Youth Work (Distinction) through Praxis in 2019 and he has recently finished a Bachelor of Youth and Community Leadership as well as a Certificate of Arts in Māori and Indigenous Studies at the University of Canterbury. Kiwa comes with significant youth work experience having previously held similar roles at Whenua Iti Outdoors and Te Ora Hou Ōtautahi as well as a wide range of volunteer experience with many different kaupapa. He is also a contracted rainbow competency and respectful relationships facilitator with InsideOUT. In their spare time, Kiwa enjoys sports, gaming, music, dancing, spinning yarns, and supporting care spaces at festivals.
Jaye Barclay
Kaihāpai Reo Māori
He/They/Ia
Tēnā rā tātou e te whānau. I te taha o tōku matua he mokopuna ahau a Ngāti Apa, a Ngāti Hauiti, a Te Āti-Haunui-a-Pāpārangi hoki ki te rohe o Te Tai Hauāuru. I te taha o tōku whaea he karanga whakapapa tōku ki ngā whenua o Hapanihi me Ūkereiniana. I tipu ake ahau ki Pōneke, i te wā nei mahi ana ahau hei tauira paetohu ki Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha i tōna Tari Pūhanga Tukanga Matū. Ko Jaye Barclay tōku ingoa.
Kia ora, I’m Jaye! I’m a tāne/tāhine takatāpui originally from Pōneke, currently residing in Ōtautahi while I study towards my PhD in Chemical Engineering. I studied my undergraduate and master’s degrees in various arts and sciences at Victoria University. I have spoken te reo Māori since the beginning of my undergraduate degree in 2016, and I have become highly passionate about the structures and foundations of te reo as a language.
I’ve been a kaiako reo Māori since I began volunteering in a peer assisted study support role in 2018 and since have taught in many community and academic contexts. One of my veryfavourite things in the world is helping others find their passion for speaking and understanding reo Māori and its deep rootedness in our culture.
As an auDHD person, I am highly enthusiastic about disability advocacy, as well as trans and rainbow advocacy in general. I sat on the board of trustees for InsideOUT Kōaro for about 4 years as secretary and later as chairperson.
In my spare time I can be found seeking out the rare patches of ngāhere in Ōtautahi, climbing hills, digging around in the māra, making art, writing poetry, or reading a good book. I love to have a yap, so please join me for one if you see me!
Hinemoana Baker
Kaituhi- Ruri Rongoā
She/her/ia
Tēnei au e mihi atu nei, tēnā koutou katoa. He uri ahau nō Ngāi Tahu ki te moutere ātaahua rā, ki Te Wai Pounamu. Nō Ngāti Raukawa hoki, nō Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Te Āti Awa ki te taha o tōku pāpā. He Pākehā hoki ōku mātua - nō Ingarangi ērā tūpuna ā, i tētahi taha o te whānau o tōku whāea, nō Tiamana ahau. I whakatipu ahau i Whakatane me Whakatū, ā, i noho mo te wā roa ki Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara me Kāpiti. Kei te noho ahau i te wā nei kei Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara.
I’m Hinemoana Baker, I come from Raukawa, Toa Rangatira, Te Āti Awa and Kāi Tahu on my Dad's side, and Germany and England on my mum's side. I grew up in Nelson and in Whakatane. I live and work in Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara Wellington, still quite fresh off the plane from nine years living in Germany, and I'm currently writing a collection of poems called 'Exhaust World'. I’m also a PhD student at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University, where my research looks at the reading and writing of poetry as a form of rongoā.
My written work includes four books, and I’ve been included in over 20 anthologies, both locally and internationally. I’ve also released five albums of original music and sound. At Mana Tipua, I facilitate Ruri Rongoā, a wānanga space of appreciation, expression, solidarity and repair, where we can get together, read other indigiqueer poets, and then respond to their work by writing poems of our own.
Koa
Kaupapa Kuri
good/dog
Koa Temple Tumai was born in 2024. She has been at rangatahi support services since she was a tiny puppy with her original whānau. Koa means ‘joyful’ or sometimes can be used as ‘please’ in Te Reo Māori. Both of these are on brand. Assigned she/her at birth, Koa is a dog and doesn’t care about pronouns as long as she’s getting praised. However, if you can get her pronouns correct, you best be working on getting everyone else’s right too!
Koa attends Mana Tipua regularly with her humans, Kahu and Khye. She can often be found at Te Tari (the office), giving awhi (care) to whoever needs it, or supervising accounts (napping hard in her office bed). Our sweet natured long-dawg has been on many kaupapa, including Waka Ama. You can practice your Te Reo with Koa!