Fluent te reo maori speakers in my whanau stopped in my great grandparents generation. I moved home to kaeo in December 2016 with my 4 tamariki from Sydney Australia after living there for 4 years, beforehand I was born and raised in our small town of Kaeo. Since I've been home I've realised how lucky we are, to able to whakapapa to this beautiful place through our tupuna. We are able to occupy whenua through our tupuna, which is a privilege not everyone gets. I started my journey with Te Wananga o Aotearoa in 2018 where I studied my Certificate in Maori Business, from home and fees free which was a bonus for me as I'm a busy mum with no putea to spare. I am now on my last kete studying He Papa Tikanga and it has opened up a whole new world, learning about our culture. I want to learn more an more about Te Ao Maori and one day be able to speak and understand Te Reo Maori. I now have 5 Tamariki, 4 of them attended our local primary school. My youngest Pepi who is 19 months old now is attending the ohanga across the creek from where we live and come from. I am excited to attend ohanga with her and learn as much as I can, while I can. I plan for her to attend Kura kaupapa when she turns 5. Kai karakia is always practised before we eat any meal, and simple maori tikanga around our kainga is also used.
I feel by learning and growing in our culture will better me and my tamariki as our culture is very unique and by doing this I know my tupuna would be proud.
I feel by learning and growing in our culture will better me and my tamariki as our culture is very unique and by doing this I know my tupuna would be proud.
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