Our history
The Cook Islands Child Welfare Association (CICWA) is the oldest non-profit organisation in the Cook Islands, operating continuously for almost 100 years.
It was formed in 1931 by Dr Edward Pōhau Ellison, Chief Medical Officer to the Cook Islands. Dr Ellison worked with the formidable Au Vaine, womens commmittee, who volunteered their time to help clinical nurses conduct community health checks and house inspections (Tutaka) across the Cook Islands.
Today, we work closely with Te Marae Ora - Ministry of Health and community health nurses to monitor the health of young children aged 0-4 years, hosting Paunu clinics (baby health checks) across Rarotonga and the Pa Enua. We also run educational workshops about child and family health, plus free antenatal classes under the NUI brand.
Dr Ellison and his first wife Tini
Our founder
Dr. Edward Ellison - 1885-1963
Dr. Edward Pohau Ellison, QBE, was a New Zealander of Māori descent, who - over the course of his government career - gave a lifetime of service to Polynesians in New Zealand and its island territories.
After studying Medicine at Otago University, Dr Ellison took up his first position in the Pacific Islands in 1919 as Resident Medical officer for Niue. In 1926, Dr Ellison was appointed Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Resident Commissioner to the Cook Islands, a position he held until 1927 and again from 1931 until his retirement in 1946.
During his first term in the Cook Islands, Dr Ellison and his wife Tini laid the groundwork for the establishment of a Child Welfare service, working with local communities and convincing the formidable Au Vaine women's organisation to take up public health duties alongside their agricultural crop inspection work. Unfortunately, tragedy struck in 1926 when Tini died suddenly of acute rheumatic fever while they were in Rarotonga.
After a brief stint in New Zealand, Dr Ellison returned to Rarotonga in 1931 and the Cook Islands Child Welfare Association was officially launched during his second term as Chief Medical Officer. With the help of the local community, Child Welfare went on to build 30 clinics on Rarotonga and establish branch associations in the outer islands, reducing the infant death rate from 130 per thousand to just 68 per thousand by 1938.
As well as overseeing the growth of Child Welfare, Dr Ellison became the driving force behind disease control and the building of a Tuberculosis Sanitorium on Rarotonga (which later became Rarotonga Hospital), lobbying the New Zealand government relentlessly for the 20,000 pound funding to build it.
In 1938, Dr Ellison was awarded an O.B.E. for service to New Zealand's island peoples. He died at his home in Napier in 1963, aged 78. Dr Ellison's family maintain close links with the Cook Islands, with his children, grandchildren and other descendants settling permanently in the islands.
Dr Ellison with CICWA’s founding members in 1937
Rarotonga Tuberculosis Sanatorium, 1945
Timeline
1926 - the Au Vaine women’s committee is established. They start leading house, village and plantation inspections (Tutaka) in all Rarotongan districts.
1926 - 1927 - Dr Ellison's first term as Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Resident Commissioner in the Cook Islands. Dr Ellison works closely with the Au Vaine women’s committee and persuade them to take up extra public health duties, including the monitoring of children in Rarotonga villages.
1927 - Dr Ellison is recalled to New Zealand to take up the role of Director of Māori Hygiene at the Ministry of Health. He begins writing academic papers on the treatment of dysentery, tuberculosis, influenza and typhoid.
1931 - The infant death rate in the Cook Islands stands at 130 per thousand births. Typhoid, leprosy, tuberculosis, parasitic worms and mosquito-borne diseases such as filariasis (elephantiasis) are rampant.
1931 - 1946 - Dr Ellison's second term as Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Resident Commissioner in the Cook Islands.
1931 - The Cook Islands Child Welfare League is founded, by Dr Ellison in partnership with the Au Vaine. The League later becomes known as the Cook Islands Child Welfare Association. With the help of the government administration and the community, the group goes on to build 30 clinics in Rarotonga and branch associations in the outer islands.
1932 - Dr Ellison sets up mass inoculations and ground sanitation with financial assistance from the US-based Rockefeller Foundation.
1933 - The first Child Welfare 'reception hut' is built (in Nikau) to weigh and examine babies. Just as they are today, the infant health checks - known as Paunu - were run by Child Welfare members and district nurses, with support from the Cook Islands government administration.
1938 - Child Welfare members in the Cook Islands, all volunteers, now number over 100. The infant death rate in the Cook Islands sits at 68 per thousand births, a drop of nearly 50 percent in eight years.
1944 - The first Baby Show is held in the Cook Islands.
1945 - Dr Ellison officially opens Rarotonga’s Tuberculosis Sanatorium, on the site of what is now Rarotonga Hospital. Dr Ellison retires from his role and returns to New Zealand.
Dr Ellison with nurses at Rarotonga Hospital - 1945
Rarotonga Baby Show - 1960
Mothers at Pue Clinic - 1960
1946 - Over 30 Child Welfare clinics have been built across Rarotonga and the Pa Enua.
1950 - Child Welfare starts to work with the Cook Islands Public Health division to promote healthy living, good sanitation and disease prevention.
1951 - Child Welfare starts a subscription service and hosts dances and bazaars to raise money to build clinics and hold Baby Shows. By the end of the 1950s, annual Baby Shows are held on many outer islands, as well as Rarotonga.
1952 - A "Grand Tutaka" is held in Rarotonga annually, lasting for three weeks and involving 1500 homes, with each village competing for the coveted Grand Tutaka Cup.
1957 - the District Nursing Service is established as part of the Cook Islands Administration. District nurses cover many miles of rough tracks on their bicycles to make Paunu clinics and home visits. They are always “on call” and commanded considerable respect from the people.
1958 - Child Welfare members sew clothing for children in hospital and arrange community clothing drives in partnership with charities in New Zealand. Members purchase milk and work with district nurses to deliver it to needy children.
1960 - The scope of Child Welfare clinics expands beyond examining babies to include ante-natal checks, blood tests, immunisation, mothercraft training and demonstrations of baby food preparation.
1962 - There are now 34 child welfare clinics in use across the Cook Islands. With 29 of those clinics, Rarotonga has the most clinics per population of any country worldwide - one for every 250 persons.
1963 - Pre-school children as well as babies start attending Paunu clinics, so that mothers and the Health Department have a complete record of each child’s health from birth to school age. Child Welfare founder Dr Ellison dies in Napier, survived by wife Mary and nine children.
1963 - 4 August - the Constitution of the Cook Islands is adopted, making the territory independent and self-governing in free association with New Zealand.
1964 - The Rarotonga General Hospital in Tupapa now has 57 beds and the Tuberculosis Sanatorium has 70 beds. New administration and outpatient blocks are added to the General Hospital.
1966 - The birthrate is over 40 per 1,000 persons. The infant mortality rate is below 50 per 1,000 live births.
1975 - Tuberculosis, which had previously been a major cause of death in the Cook Islands, is nearly eradicated, with rates dropping significantly.
Child Welfare today
Each year, we seek funding to run a range of educational workshops in our communities for parents, caregivers and children. These workshops all relate to child-health and wellbeing of tamariki and families. Past workshop topics have included:
first aid for babies
fevers in children
healthy meals and nutrition for children
oral health and teeth brushing
gardening for kids
cooking displays
massage for babies
breast feeding and lactation support
mums and bubs yoga
Check our events schedule or Facebook page for upcoming workshops in your vaka.
