Over eighty men and women from across Counties Manukau arrived at the Mana Tane Hui, Papakura Marae on Wednesday evening to celebrate men’s health, but also to be given a ticking off.

Men and their whaanau gathered, some to learn about the importance of early diagnoses and interventions for issues such as Prostate Cancer and Type 2 Diabetes and others to celebrate and share their successful journeys.

The concept of a men’s health Warrant of Fitness was promoted at the hui encouraging those who gathered to have regular annual health checks and not take their wellbeing for granted. The women were nudging the men to get the message and reworded the Warrant of Fitness (WoF) acronym to “Where are our fathers?” The call asked why often avoidable diseases were not taken seriously by Maaori men and that their wives and children often missed the involvement of husbands and fathers in family life because of illness..

Common behaviours around health such as denying any problem or finding excuses like lack of time to go to the doctors were labelled as ‘selfish’ and men were challenged to take up the Mana Tane commitment – to stand up and lead by example.

Hui organisers Charlotte Peka and Hine Joyce from Papakura Marae and Richard Cooper from Counties Manukau District Health Board were delighted with numbers and the enthusiasm of those who attended.

“It was an awesome night, “says Hine Joyce. “A great thing has been started with the men’s groups.  Lets keep the momentum going!”