January 27, 2023
Bike ride for cervical cancer fight
The organiser of a “Smear Your Mea” bike ride from Wellington Auckland in time for Te Matatini wants to put the late Talei Morrison front and centre again.
The leader of Rotorua’s Te Mātārae i Ōrehu died of cervical cancer in 2018 aged 42 – missing the birth of a mokpuna by just two weeks.
In the last months of her life Ms Morrison dedicated herself to encouraging female performers to get cervical screens done early and act on the results.
Te Ururoa Flavell says his whanaunga might have been here today if she had acted quickly enough – and she admitted that procrastinating cost her everything.
“She goes to the doctor; the doctor says sorry you’re in stage 4, too late. What she did then was to say well hell if that’s my experience I don’t want any other kapahaka woman in particular, but Maori, and any woman to have to go through what I do. And I want to tell people they should go and get smeared – despite that. – because the choices are death, or stay with your mokopuna and tamariki,” he says.
Mr Flavell expects about 20 riders for the seven-day, 800 kilometre ride, leaving Whanganui a Tara on February 14 and arriving at Orakei in time for the festival powhiri.