Pa Tate did a sermon on te wa - a moment in time. I spent my te wa reflecting. I spent my te wa with my hoa rangatira, who passed away last year. He was a fluent speaker. He was a trained teacher. He was mentored by Sir James Henare, at that time they were setting up Kòhanga Reo. He said then that they needed trained teachers of te reo Màori. With Ngapo Wehi, they started the first te reo class at AIT, in an old disused science lab. That's how it was. He would not accept the position offered to him at Carrington (now Unitec) unless he was on the top table - where the decisions were made. He said he needed to have a voice for things Màori. He set up the Màori Faculty at Unitec - Puukenga. There are many other stories. I always told him he was gifted and had unique skills. All these years later, they still need trained teachers of te reo Màori, now more than ever. I miss him so.
Comments