It was a huge commitment from my parents. Not just learning te reo Māori as adults but also deciding to send their children to kura kaupapa Māori. A total immersion Māori school wasn’t as common as it is today. And the kura that we attended, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ruamata was still in a small whare next to the marae out at Uenuku Kōpako.
It started with only a handful of children, and my mother has told me that members of her whānau questioned whether sending us to kura was the right thing to do. At that time, there was a stigma around Māori culture, and doubts about the benefits. But, thankfully, my parents persevered and they sent us anyway." - Maiki Sherman on her parents sending her to the first kura kaupapa Māori in Ruamata.
Te Moana-ā-Toi | Bay of Plenty | Rotorua | 1980-89 | 1st kura kaupapa opens | Story is by tangata whenua
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