I come from a family where on one side the hurt and damage of colonisation separated us from the reo/culture and on the other side it was beaten out of us. I grew up with this imposed knowledge that being Māori was to be less than.
In my twenties I became a Christian and had this realisation that to be Māori, to kōrero Māori and everything else is a tāonga and extreme privilege I wouldn’t get anywhere else in the world. Such a treasure! I set a goal to be fluent by 30 (not quite there) and since the birth of my son, my passion for reo has increased.
Movements like this inspire hope because it fans into flame the little spark us Māori (and also, is kiwis) are born with.
Kia kaha te reo Māori Aotearoa!
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