Tēnā koe Ko Jayde Tōku ingoa My why?? I was raised in Ngaruawahia, I went to Nga Primary Maori culture was all around me I was in kapa haka and Did waka ama. . My parents separated and my mum(Cookislander) moved to hamilton and I was put into mainstream. . . For me I always acknowledged my culture and wanted to korero maori and be fluent but my mum who raised me didn't speak te reo so all was lost. . over the years I've implemented what little reo I did know in my everyday life but for me I still felt a disconnect. . A loss, a sence of not belonging. . I would hate being around people who were fluent because I would feel like a idiot or dumb because I couldn't understand my own language when spoken right infront of me. . . That just didn't sit right for me and I knew I didn't want my children to ever feel like that. A STRANGER ON MY OWN WHENUA, A SENCE OF NOT BELONGING OR BEING DISCONNECTED. . My reason is so that my kids know who they are where they from and can understand the reo and learn the history of Aotearoa and have the knowledge so that they too can teach or and fight for our culture before its too late! ! My why is because I love my culture and my people. . . Because this is my home Kia kaha te reo maori! !