Far North Health NZ Te Whatu Ora workers Josephine Wehi, Karangatai Piripi and Katey Robinson have been awarded JR.BM Scholarships to further their undergraduate studies.
Far North Health NZ Te Whatu Ora workers Josephine Wehi, Karangatai Piripi and Katey Robinson have been awarded JR.BM Scholarships to further their undergraduate studies.
The trio — Josephine Wehi, Karangatai Piripi and Katey Robinson — have been awarded a 2025 JR.BM Scholarship supporting their health-specific undergraduate studies.
The JR.BM Scholarship is funded through an anonymousdonation by a member of the public and has now supported 17 employees since 2018 in undergraduate health study.
Health NZ interim district finance lead Vincent McColl said the selection panel received 14 scholarship applications for 2025.
‘‘We are delighted to announce that employees Josephine Wehi, Karangatai Piripi and Katey Robinson have been offered a 2025 JR.BM Scholarship that funds up to 65% of their remaining educational study fees if they continue to make satisfactory progress with their studies until completion,” McColl said.
Health NZ Te Whatu Ora employee Josephine Wehi is one of three Far North women who have earned a JR.BM Scholarship to support health-specific undergraduate studies
Wehi, from Ngāti Hine, is employed as a maternity healthcare assistant/administration support at Bay of Islands Hospital. She has completed her first year of the Bachelor of Health Science - Midwifery at the Auckland University of Technology. The JR.BM Scholarship will support the remainder two years of her degree.
‘‘I have been so lucky to have been blessed with midwives who made each pregnancy experience incredible,’’ she said.
‘‘I felt safe and empowered. I want to do the same for whānau in our community, make sure they feel as supported and powerful as I did bringing new life into the world.”
Far North health worker Karangatai Piripi is one of three from the district to be awarded a JR.BM Scholarship
Piripi, a healthcare assistant at Mental Health & Addiction Services in Kaitāia, is in her second year of a Bachelor of Nursing at Pūkenga (NorthTec). The JR.BM Scholarship will support the final year of her degree.
‘‘The bird that eats the miro berries owns the forest. The bird that eats knowledge owns the world,’’ she said.
‘‘In my studies for the Bachelor of Nursing, I put this saying into practice. This quote is a wake-up call for young people / the Māori people to seek the path of knowledge so that each one’s journey in their learning and growth in this world will be less demanding.’’
Katey Robinson is the third Far North Health NZ Te Whatu Ora employee awarded a JR.BM Scholarship in Northland for further study.
Mid-North dental assistant Robinson is studying for a Bachelor of Health Science (Oral Health) at the Auckland University of Technology. In her first year of study, the JR.BM Scholarship will support the remaining two years of her degree.
Robinson is passionate about doing her part to build a stronger, more resilient dental workforce in Te Tai Tokerau.
‘‘Being able to contribute to the oral health of our most vulnerable children is deeply fulfilling, especially working alongside schools to ensure children who need to be seen can access our care.
Our work has a real community feel to it, and I am incredibly grateful to be part of a team making a difference,’’ she said.
For more information or if you would like to support Health NZ Te Tai Tokerau through an endowment or donation, contact Jane Stearns, Northland Community Foundation on 021 558224 or janes@northlandcommunityfoundation.org.nz
