Free dental clinic empowers community and Māori women in business

Dozens of whānau left with brighter smiles and full hearts after a free dental clinic brought relief, care, and confidence to the local community – and pride to a group of young Māori women growing their skills in business and administration.

The clinic run by a group of volunteers from Trinity Koha Dental clinic, a Christian-based organisation serving hard-to-reach communities in the Pacific, has been coming to Toi Rāwhiti, the Ōpōtiki district, for the past four years.

Hosted this round by Te Pou Oranga o Te Whakatōhea, the mobile dental caravan manned by Ann-marie Jenner, a Nelson-based dentist, provided dental assessments, fillings and extractions.

The clinic also served as a practicum placement for eight Māori wāhine studying towards the NZ Certificate in Business Level 4 (Administration & Technology) programme facilitated by Te Pou Oranga o Te Whakatōhea.

Amy Kirikiri, the tutor of the programme, was proud of the significant growth and experience gained from the partnership opportunity.

“I am truly blown away by how these women have stepped up in so many ways to demonstrate their value in the workplace,” she said.

“The natural skills these wahine have as mothers and supports for others is underestimated, and it shows how they can make such an important contribution to any organisation.”

She is keen to strengthen the placement partnership into the future and is also keen to explore other opportunities within the community for her students to gain invaluable real-world experience while giving back.

Anyone with a placement suggestion can approach her to explore this.

Ms Kirikiri said the project had been transformational.

“Not only are our students applying their skills in a real setting, they’re seeing the direct impact of their work on community wellbeing  –  and that’s what kaupapa Māori business is all about.”

“It’s been uplifting,” said student Cherie Rahi, māmā of 14 tamariki who returned to study after years of raising her whānau.

“I didn’t realise I had such strong natural leadership and project management skills until I was in the thick of it – juggling people, priorities, and problem-solving like I’d been doing it my whole life.”

Over 35 patients were seen across the five-day clinic, with many identifying that they had been experiencing pain for more than a year.

Jodi Porter, iwi-led project manager of Toi Rāwhiti, acknowledged the work of volunteers in making the clinic possible.

“There are so many people to thank for bringing this free dental clinic to our community.”

Mindful of the huge waiting list and high demand for unmet dental care needs, she recognises that it is important to acknowledge the many whānau that couldn’t be seen.

“We are wanting to explore innovative funding models that may enable us to do more here locally for our whānau.

“The current funding climate is difficult – but the needs we have amongst our community are undeniable and access to treatment must be a priority”.

Plans are already under way to run more clinics next year in partnership with Trinity Koha Dental clinic, in Ōpōtiki and Te Kaha.