Te pae kōrero | Our why

There are many things that define New Zealanders and connect us to our home: and te reo Māori is one of them.

Everyone has their own reasons for wanting to learn te reo and see it become normalised and spoken nationwide. Explore them below and share your favourites to inspire others to get involved.


Add your 'why'

My son was born here & I want to instill in his heart & soul Aotearoa's language, heritage & culture.

Bianca Dené

Doing this for me and my mokopuna - the loves of my life

Mihi

As a UK immigrant to Aotearoa and have purposefully learnt more about the history and impact of colonisation I want to do all I can to support the indigenous language and culture flourish.

Helen

Tēnā tātou katoa. As a kura we feel it is vital to promote, uphold and foster Te Reo Rangatira.

Sherrilee

My heritage is my why.

Sharlene

Because as a ‘tauiwi’ it is important that I learn the official language of Aotearoa.

Jane

We are a socially responsible business, we are part of Aotearoa DNA, and we want Aotearoa to be a part of our DNA.

Raymond

Working in an early childhood centre, I think it’s really important that our Māori and non-Māori tamariki are exposed to Māori culture from a young age. As a result, I constantly am trying to better my Te Reo and am hoping to become fluent one day.

Ashley

Kia ora ai te wairua Maori me te aroha ki to tatou reo me ona tikanga.

Te Rerenga

Because as a volunteer I would dearly love to use te reo in my interactions with the public more confidently.

Adrianne

To understand the whaikorero on te marae. . . And to be able to answer correctly to my nan an koro.

Kathleen

I want to be better at my job.

Lesley

I want to be the kind of Pākehā the tangata whenua thought they were getting when they signed Te Tiriti. Kia kaha te reo Māori! ! !

Sophia

For my whānau and our future generations. Keep the fire burning, create better pathways for our young! Mauri Ora! #proudtobemāori #magicpeople

Jayde

Ko te reo Māori te reo o ōku tūpuna!

Āria

I want to educate myself so I can educate my little one

Pou

We, in Aotearoa are the kaitiaki of te reo Māori, from our rivers to our maunga, to our people, te reo Māori is for everyone to give us connection and meaning.

Huia

We feel in times of hope happiness bountiful produce used for health and wellbeing. . Gets a big tino pae. .

waati

My why is I want to be able to include Māori culture and language myself in my ECE sector as a Kaiako/teacher. Also after I leanrt some legends of Māori, I think the culture is quite similar to mine and I am curious to know more. For me, learning Te Reo is a door to it. I am actually afraid of approaching to a totally new langauge now, but I am willing to challenge myself to see how far I can go.

Xiaoran

My why is my whanau my tamariki . I don't want our culture to die.

Leslie

As an immigrant coming from a far away land, I have started to realize that many countries that got colonized, had a problem with using their native tongue in schools etc as a result native languages got lost. I feel that learning Te Reo Maori is a way to keep the language alive.

Charles

I want to see all my whānau honour the Treaty through learning Te reo Māori, tikanga, Te Ao & a celebration at Matariki is the best time for this.

Trina

I work as a coordinator and my work is to connect people of different communities sono would like to enhance my knowledge and skills by learning Te reo and this way I can teach my kids also and would be able to prepare them for their future before enrolling in school.

Ramandeep

Tēnā koutou katoa. . wāhine Māori. . a second language learner. . Like anything in life. . it’s not until you no longer have something do you value or cherish it. In my case living in Brisbane raising ōku tamariki for 20 years. . the last 5years I felt such mamae, karanga to return home. 2017 I answered that cry. . who am I as wāhine Māori . . learn Te Reo. . tikanga. . whakapapa Te Wananga Aotearoa, Tauranga. . Most importantly instil into ōku tamariki, mokopuna this taonga tūturu. Kei ō ringaringa te ao. .

Ani

I have lived my whole life in Aotearoa, I need to learn Te Reo in order to embrace my identity as a kiwi. I also know the positive impact my efforts have on my Māori students. Attitudes are infectious, I am part of a positive movement towards a bilingual Aotearoa.

Priscilla

I'm learning te reo for my kids and myself. My younger two are Ngāti Raukawa and even though I myself am Pakeha I want to be part of helping the language thrive in Aotearoa.

Hannah

I’m now a Nana at 50 and it brings me joy that it’s never to late to learn and participate in our own language with my moko ☺️

Leonie

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! !

Benge

I feel like I want to really connect with my New Zealand roots. I am pākehā and i have a strong connection to Māori tangata and Tikanga. I want to be comfortable speaking Te reo Māori and demonstrate the importance of this to all New Zealanders.

Karo

I have been attending a nightclass in Te Reo Māori this year at Nelson polytechnic - it runs for the full year. So I have thought quite a bit about why I am doing this - ( My learning te Reo has been an ongoing - coming and going over the years type of thing! ). - Because it is one of NZ's national languages - Because all my neices and nephews are Māori - Because I am a treaty partner with our unique te Tiriti o Waitangi - that was then disregarded by Pakeha - we need to keep working to restore some kind of justice and equity within Aotearoa Because i am an educationalist - i need to role model Because it is such a beautiful language and holds so much mana. I am so luck yo to have an amazing tutor that gracefully shares so much. ( Dont have a visual to share - but wish i did! )

Charlotte

to honour my ancestors and it is a part of who I am

ingrid

It’s about the Kia KAHA Te reo I nga wa KATOA

Haylee

It just feels right for me now. My interest has grown and I feel in a better place to appreciate the language and culture. It's also great to share what I have learnt with others.

Leeann

I have been trying to learn te reo rangatira because: 1. it's a truly beautiful language. 2. it is passed down from the ancestors, even though it's changed over the years. 3. It is the language of this land, as important as nga rakau me nga manu, nga maunga me nga moana. 4. If we lose the language we lose our souls. 5. It is an important reflection of who we are, who we were and who we will proudly become. 6. Our tamariki and rangtahi have a right to hold and speak their anguage, so we must be kaitiaki and make sure to save it like any other taonga, 7. It's one of the official languages of Aoteaora and the more people who learn it, the more importance it will have in the wider world. 8. But mainly because it calls to me and claims me and I want it to be part of my life.

Lynda

I want to feel more connected to my country Aotearoa, in every way possible, and to show gratitude to each and every person

Julie

Tēnā tātou I take part in these kaupapa to encourage and support our people, especially our future generations. I love learning new things and will always try and upskill in Te Reo me ngā tikanga o Te Ao Māori.

Sharlee

I want to speak Te Reo because it's the original language of my country.

Julie

to confidently participate in te ao Māori, I ensured my boys were nurtured in te ao Māori now I want to do me, as Rhonda Kite said "women tend to find their feet later in life, we take care of everyone else and then it's our turn"

Karen

E tika ana te kōrero o ōku tupuna: Toku reo, toku ohooho. Kia mau ki to Maoritanga. I came late in my life to this understanding. . . . but it's never too late!

Lenora

I am driven to learn Maori because it is part of me It will take me a long time but it will be worth it.

Ann

Last year, my why was not to feel so whakama about not speaking Te Reo Māori. Today I still feel that way, but through University, I have understood that language is associated with culture and identity. Like being comfortable with who I am, and that is being a non-fluent Māori. So every day I spend studying the language is a step closer to the revitalisation of Te Reo Māori in Aotearoa. For years, I have suppressed who I was to fit in, and now I see that is not something I wish to continue— Kaitiaki of not only whenua and he Tangata but the language which is a taonga for Māori.

Kaya

Kia ora ko Andrea toku ingoa I am 55 years old My why, is so many reasons. Firstly for myself, I’m what you call a procrastinator I start but always put it off for something/someone else. I need to be more motivated to get to my end goal and that is hei awhi mai i taku mohio ki taku reo. To acknowledge my tupuna, kia kotahi ai me to tatou whenua. Secondly, my father has dementia and is slowly deteriorating. He often speaks Maori to me, some words I understand but there is no way I can put them into a sentence. His frustration angers me because I sadly can’t understand him. Thirdly, for my mokos. They are everything to me, they are my legacy, but without knowing who I am how can I leave them a legacy. I need them to know where they are from, who they are related to and belong to and to understand our beautiful Te reo This is my why.

Andrea

Respect our own country's culture

Daniel

Hidden post

He tōiriiri ki au te reo Māori. He pai ki au ki whakamahara āku tīpuna mo toku pepeha. He ataahua ki au te reo Māori! He mahana te reo Māori! He mahana nga tauira o te reo Māori! He tino rawe nga kai korero!

Pete

For the team at Dunstan Educare it is vital for us to be role-modeling Te Reo Maori, and to be continually improving our Reo. Early Childhood Education is the perfect time for tamariki to begin to be exposed to languages. We want to engage tamariki and whanau in this process, and try to keep challenging ourselves with how we engage with whanau, the signage around the centre, and the phrases that we use. Nga mihi nui for all the hard mahi around this kaupapa - keeping us motivated and growing!

Linley

I want to understand the reo of my tūpuna, and pass it on to my tamariki. Keeping the reo alive is such a core aspect of retaining our cultural heritage, and I want to do my bit.

Arina

Im not 100% sure why Ive dedicated a huge part of my life to te reo, however, I was just so motivated to learn. To the point of becoming a te reo nerd, carrying around a notebook.

Mason

Tooku Reo tooku ohooho tooku Reo tooku mapihi maurea ~ I am currently on my Te Reo journey at TWoA, for myself, my whaanau and carrying the legacy of my tuupuna 💕 I teach my tamariki at home, Te Reo is apart of our everyday koorero. It is our identity, our whakapapa, it is us. Proud to be Maaori 😇

Jenny-Lee

Firstly, gratitude to the Land that welcomed my family and I with open arms. I Will never thanks enough to be part of this beloved Land of Aotearoa. Secondly is simple, te reo will be the mother language of my grandchildren and I want to be part of it. At the moment there is only Awanuiārangi who is teaching my first words , she is 2 years old 🙂 Finaly, why not? When I first arrived here I didn't speak any Enghish. I've learning it since then. I learned English with my head, now I want learn Te reo with my heart because te reo , the Māori culture is the soul of Aotearoa. I'm proud to be part of the reo Māori movement.

Claudia

I didn't know much about this language, until I met a guy from NZ . I thought NZ only spoke English, but he said to me that he's a native speaker of Maori , so I was so curious about this language . And I search and I search, found out this is a beautiful language that I want to learn, and I don't really wish this would disappeared .

Claire

I am learning te reo because it is such a huge part of being a kiwi and our cultural identity. As a teacher aide working with our tamariki I believe in being a positive role model and making te reo apart of my everyday practice including more and more te reo as I learn it. Showing the students this beautiful language in an every day context.

Julie

As a young boy I knew Te Reo Maori. Once my parents looked after me full time, as I was whangai to my grandparents, I spoke exclusively English. I want it back because it reminds me of my grandmother and I want to connect with my roots more.

Floyd

I'm on a journey to learn te reo Māori so I can better serve Māori in my mahi (digital communications) and engage on a deeper, cultural level with tangata whenua and community. I'm currently doing a home based te reo course with Whitirea and start He Papa Tikanga with Te Wānanga o Aotearoa in September. My son is learning with me, as I was displaced from my Māori whānau it's important for me that my children can connect to their culture through te reo and tikanga.

Kylie

Kia ora. The last 8 years I have learnt from many resources ie, kaumatua, all my friends, I enrolled online to a course learning te reo Maori, Tikanga, Correct kaupapa, Rawa, Karakia, and lots of Waiata. I'm so grateful, being adopted out as a child I was sick of just learning our colours, when I had kids, that started the ball rolling and now back with my real whanau I'm loving every minute, I study Rongoa which is also a huge part of my ambitions and was a big player driving me to learn, it certainly has increased my te reo Maori, plus learning the old school Maori not transliterated. I celebrate our culture as a community worker, its all the difference to approach all things thinking Maori, I was very ill, when I started with Cancer and It helped me to fight it off, I did Mahi ora and now I'm pretty equipped with alot of karakia, and waiata also. I will never give up at 53yrs old, having 183 first Maori cousins also helps, Nga mihinui koutou katoa ! ! Tihei Mauri Ora, oh my most favourite is Whakataukii I really love proverbs. "he waka eke noa" we are all in this together

Toni

I want to share my culture and language with my grandchildren. I made the mistake of thinking when I moved to Australia that I would return home with my children but I didn't. Now I have to try and relearn my te reo so I can korero effectively and in turn, I can teach my mokopuna.

Ana

Whats my why? My why is because I was adopted to a pakeha whānau who knew that learning our culture was something they could not do. Through out my life my parents placed me in education providers that could support my cultural identity. However their vision was not in time with society. I am 1975 child & yes we had opportunities at school but in the community you were shamed. If you didn't know your pepeha, your iwi you felt shamed & less Māori. It didn't help when the adult information act allows you to know your whakapapa when you are 21 years of age. By this time you are pretty assimilated & your focus is on being a young adult & enjoying the adventures of life. My pakeha parents gave me a Māori name & i could not escape my identity. I met my whakapapa whānau but this didn't mean I had a connection with Te Reo. The impact had woven into my life & its not until I studied at Te Wānanga o Raukawa, I learnt the importance of Te Reo, the history & the impact on my whānau. How my kui * koro were part of the Kohanga movement in Ötautahi. The constant barriers & challenges they fought & knowing our reo is important for our survival as a people. Knowing who you are, your kui & koro & whakapapa is the most important. My Te Reo journey has been a struggle & it still is now but its a life long journey. Its part of my life & I'm glad that i was able to see the importance. The first time I felt I know my identity was 2017, this is also the first time was able to acknowledge my iwi & tupuna cause I had gone to each marae. This was the year that I will never felt lost again. My why is identity.

Rua

I am learning te reo to be a better example for my children and the generations ahead in our whakapapa.

Sonny

It is vital that I learn Te Reo Maori because I am employed by a Maori Organisation here in NZ, called National Hauora Coalition a Primary Health Organisation. My role is a Kaimanaaki/Health Navigator/Well Being Support Worker supporting whanau needing various individual support in our local communities. Our Kaupapa: At the heart of our organisation is a vision of mana whānau, whānau ora and is cloaked in ō mātou tikanga (our values). 1. whānau whakataurangi – keep our word 2. whānau whakaaro tika – think like whānau 3. mahia kia ea, kia toa – a ‘can do’ attitude 4. whakanuia te whānau – celebrate indigineity 5. whānau whai hua – outcomes matter 6. whānau auaha – everyone an innovator So it is important for me to learn, practice, walk the talk and support our Kaupapa for the sake of our mahi and supporting our Whanau in our local communities.

Moana

My grand children are learning Maori and have inspired me. Also my employer is encouraging - cultural responsiveness and celebrating our place in New Zealand as bicultural.

Joanne

Continuing on my Reo Maori journey is important for my job working with kohungahunga in a childcare.

Karla

Ko te reo Māori te kākaha o te whakaaro, te huarahi i te ao tūroa. Kei te ako i te reo māori nā te mea kei te ako kotou katoa. Kei te ako i te reo māori nā te mea kei te akoranga. Kei te ako au i te reo māori nā te mea he reo ātaahua.

Michael

I need to show how proud I am and how lucky we are to have our own native language.

Lee-Ann

It's important to honour and respect our first people, to try to make things better after the ugly colonisation that my ancestors were a part of. And for me personally, it's about acknowledging the Māori who saved my great great grandmother's life in 1863 when she was living in Mohua - Golden Bay.

Polly

The taonga that is te reo Māori can be a living gift to our future generations if we all become part of this movement. On a personal level te reo Māori is a conduit into te ao Māori and to explore the wonderful wisdom of this, requires me to work at this which will be a lifetime pursuit. I am lucky to be surrounded by great teachers who are my guides and they have taught me that I too can stand with māori and contribute in this quest.

Haider
Marina

I'm a first generation NZer and proud to be part of this beautiful whenua with its rich and spiritual heritage. I am also culturally Lithuanian and Lithuania had to endure many years of oppression, suppression of language and land confiscation before gaining freedom in 1991. When my Mother became very sick she moved to live with my sister in Masterton and was greatly respected by the Maori community. I would like to honour the manaakitanga and aroha shown to my Mother by learning Te Reo and Tikanga, especially since Lithuanian is not easily accessible to me

Ray

It is one of our country's national language, we need to normalise it's use. My partner and son whakapapa Māori

Claire

Because I want to be at my Marae, listening to the stories of the days gone past and of the people who have passed on too but I want to be able to understand FULLY these stories. Not just pick out bits and piece together keywords to get a half pie version of the whole story. I want to get up and say my pepeha, where I am from and who I come from without rehearsing it in my mind nervously 100 times waiting for it to be my turn to speak. I want to laugh at the marae when a joke is told because I UNDERSTAND the joke, not because everyone else is laughing too. I want to speak to my children in Te Reo and for them to know exactly what I'm saying to them because this language is OURS. I get scared for our language to become extinct so I am attempting to be the change that I want to see in this world. I am PROUD to be a MAORI and I want to be a proud Maori speaking Mana Wahine too! ! ! ! This is my why.

Christie

I am not Tāngata Whenua but Aotearoa is my home. Te Reo is one of New Zealand's 2 official languages. It is in wide usage with place names and personal names and also with words in Te Reo which have come into common use. It is a beautiful language and I wish to be able to pronounce it correctly for a start. More than that, I would like to be able to have a conversation in Te Reo rather than just a basic greeting. I have wanted to learn for years. Now, finally, in my 60's I have that opportunity, that honour , and I am grasping it with both hands.

Rosalie

As a pākeha, it is my responsibility to not repeat the harm that my tīpuna created - out of ignorance or intent. It also is one way I can show respect to tangata whenua and invite a genuine connection. I need to do this mahi first - Māori have done their bit! Learning te reo Māori is not just about language to me, it's about whakataukī, empathy, storytelling, and identify for everyone. Plus, I LOVE the way te reo sounds. It grounds me a place of meaning in my own life, and sends me to new ways of connecting and feeling. Learing te reo Māori is both a political and a person act. Every pākeha must start and/or continue their journey. Enough is enough.

I want to be able to understand and speak (albeit a little) of the language out of respect for tangata whenua. I think it's important that we all do this to better understand our heritage. As a pakeha New Zealander of Scottish heritage I am also learning Gaelic to pay tribute to my ancestors. Language drives understanding!

Marion

Like so many other people my age we were taught that we needed to discard our Māori identity in order to make it in the pakeha world. I have drifted in and out of my Māori side as it suited me over the years. When I began working for different Māori agencies and them allowing me to continue my journey in an encouraging and non-judgemental way I have now made te reo and all things Māori a priority. I have begun to use my Māori lense and I am so glad that I have. I work for a Māori agency now and every year we celebrate Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori and every year I know I have improved. My goal is to be as fluent as others and to hold complete conversations with ease.

Ahlene

I have always felt a connection with, and great pride in Aotearoa's Māori heritage. Māori connects me to my spiritual side and the environment that is missing in pākeha culture. I have a Māori ancestor on my father's side; perhaps that is why I feel such a strong connection?

Rosemary

Learning te Ao Māori is for me being a complete New Zealander, ngā mihi ki a koutou.

Don

Te Reo Māori is apart of me myself and I. I am responsible for my own learning and grasping the knowledge. No matter how much I learn there is always something more to learn 💯✨🙏

Kathleen

Sociologically, Maori is our indigenous language so we need to protect and nurture it. I am Maori so want to learn my language too. Personally, Te Ao Maori, Tikanga Maori and Te Reo Maori make me feel normal - its weird but true - when i am in Te Ao Maori, i feel more like me.

Kane

My answer is. . . . . why not!

Marilyn

Kia ora e te whānau. Tōku whakaaro: This is the reo of this whenua, this whenua has nurtured tōku whānau for 5 generations. He tāwāhi mātou. We can't change the past engari ka taea e mātou to contribute to the restoration of te reo Māori ki Aotearoa ia rā, ia rā!

Andrea

Kia ora, Kaore au i te maia. he tino tangata whakama ahau. Kaore au i te pai te korero. kei te mohio au kei te manakki oku tupuna kei roto tonu i aku moemoe, He uri ahau. Kei te hiahia ahau ki te tatau na te mea he mea nui.

huhana

Kia Ora. This is important for me because I love being Maori, even though I’m only half. My mother is Maori and my father is pakeha. Although growing up I was definitely more exposed to things Maori and not learning pakeha protocols. I have grown up knowing only Maori tikanga. I grew up in the far north Kaitaia. And Maori was a huge part of the teachings at my schools. I came to Auckland when I was 12 years old and it was a huge culture shock. Growing up in Kaitaia, as a kid I thought there were only Maori and pakeha people, brown and white. I soon learned that there are hundreds of nationalities. And those different nationalities all have their own languages which most of them still speak where sadly a lot of us Maori have to learn again our native tongue. So it is very important that we as a culture and as whanau encourage each other to bring Te reo Maori back to life. Kia Ora

Cathy

I am a polyglot - someone who enjoys learning to speak other languages. You can't learn a language without learning something of the culture of the people who speak it, so Tikanga is part of the learning. So far I can speak 5 languages with various levels of fluency. I will always be who I am, but I would like to be able to communicate in Māori with the Māori students I teach. Although I was not born in Aotearoa, I am now a kiwi citizen, so learning to speak and understand Māori will be great! The NZ is where I am now, the ZA is where I came from. Its all there in the one image!

Ruth

E kore matou e ngaro ana to tatou reo i te mea oku nei whakaaro e ki mai te tiriti o tatou tupuna kia ora ai matou te iwi maori tata ake ki te iwi pakeha ara he mahi tahi tatou ki nga mea whakahirahira nga mea katoa kia tipu ake tatou tetahi ki tetahi atu ano hoki ki te hapai mai ki te whakatika aua korero aua panui hoki me ako tonu tena ka mahi tahi tatou

arnold

As an early childhood teacher, to honour our bicultural curriculum its so important our mokopuna are surrounded by te reo Māori.

Diana

I want us to be a community who works together and understands each other, respects each other. Learning Te Reo I think can help me with that.

Penelope

My great-grandmother kept her mātauranga like a secret as she wished to live as pākeha in her time. I feel sad that she was made to feel ashamed. So learning te reo for me at the moment is like finding something. Inconclusive as the finding may be, it could be a long walk :) I also just like language and communication. It’s humbling to acknowledge other worlds through languages & to pursue social connections /whakawhanaungatanga

Anna

Kia Ora as a Te Tiriti treaty partner and some one who has Maori and European ancestors. I feel that now I am retired from teaching I finally have the time to find out how to speak Te Reo correctly without being corrected for my bad pronounciation. As well as learning Maori protocols so when I go onto a Marae I don’t upset anyone by my lack of understanding of them. To be connected to my whanau’s ancestors past and present. Another goal , I have as part of the Rongamou Community Action group is to advocate and lobby as a Te Tiriti partner for equality for Tangata Whenua in local government and the community. By being able to speak Te Reo and understand Maori History and protocols helps with this. My father’s brother Sir Paul Reeves advocated for better Maori representation for Taranaki 11 years ago and we are continuing with his vision. Nga Mihi

Gail

My why is that I would like to be a part of making sure we don't lose our Māori language. To pronounce te reo correctly. To add to my vocabulary and maybe one day learn to speak the reo. In doing so have a deeper understanding of tikanga. I am a 67 year-old pakeha woman. I have worked for much of my career with māori and in so doing have been a part of developing a deeper understanding of historical events and what the resulting outcomes are.

Liz

Really only discovered my Māori ancestry while at Teacher's training college. My Nana and Dad never connected with theirs- my sister and I have taken on the challenge to learn te reo for them. By using te reo in my classroom- I am normalising and promoting our precious unique language for the next generation.

Kyla

It helps me understand ko wai au. My dad was born in 1921 and was going to Te reo at northcote college 60 yrs later when he died. He used words like pakaru porungi waipiro etc. Both his parents were fluent but they didn’t pass it on. My kids and now hire kids, my mokos are very keen to learn our whakapapa and our language. In fact, my 7 year old moko has a better understanding than me which he got from his preschool in Wanaka. For me that was the catalyst to indulge in our reo.

Gary

For our future

Tania

Unuhia te rito o te harakeke, kei whea te kōmako e kō? Whakatairangitia - Rere ki uta, rere ki tai; Ui mai koe ki ahau he aha te mea nui o te ao, mākū e kī atu he tangata, he tangata, he tangata. Ki te kore tātou e ako i te reo Māori, ka ngaro. Kei te ako au i te reo Māori nā te mea he reo ātaahua. Kei te pīrangi au i te reo Māori ki tūhono i te ahurea Māori. Kei te ako au i te reo Māori nā te mea he pārekareka, waihoki, ki te kore au e ako, ka ngaro te reo.

Ethan

Why I chosen to learn my own language again, now that I have my own tamariki and that they go to school learning its time I start learning and sharing to my own at home. . I love my language its help me understand who I am as a person where I belong and carrying on the legacy of our tupuna. I am currently a student at Te Wananga O Raukawa and loving the reo to help me become a better person in reo

Westeria

Ngā mihi nui koutou, It's my birth right to speak the language of my ancestors. My Aunty Hana TeHemara carried 30, 000+ signatures up the steps of Parliament 39 years ago to have Te Reo Māori in schools. She, my mother and her siblings were strapped for speaking Māori at school and my mother made a conscious decision not to teach us. I did a total emersion course 20+ years ago but haven't had the opportunity to use te reo Māori in my mahi. I am continuing my hikoi ki te ako te reo Māori as is my son Apera Woodfine. (who incidentally is launching an EP in Te Reo Māori 25th June 2021 - keep an eye out for it, it's great and I hope it reaches main stream radio) Ko taku hiahia au ki te kōrero Māori i ngā wā katoa. ) My desire is to kōrero Māori all the time and especially in my job. Joining this kaupapa is important to me and together we are stronger.

Wairereraki

It's a giant part of who I am and where I come from, it's part of my whakapapa - even if growing up I was constantly told by everyone else that it wasn't.

Ariana

He taonga te Reo; na te mea e hiahia ana ahau ki te maarama Ngā mea nui ki Maori ; me matua korero au i te reo rangatira, te reo Maori.

Mary Britton

I dont want our beautiful reo to be lost, our tikanga our who we are to be lost. Our tamariki need to know who they are why they do what they do, look like they do, sound and act like they do. For my babies

Rose

it's important to me because my mother was punished for speaking Māori and if I don't learn and encourage my daughter to learn then who will uphold our tikanga and run our Marae with the customs our tipuna fought so hard to uphold its up to us to keep it alive!

vickilee

I love learning te reo. It's my 5th year and I enjoy saying more than "Kia Ora" when introducing myself. I also like to show others that a pakeha middle aged lady can hold a simple conversation in reo. Kei te kaiako au i a rua reo akomanga and seeing my tamariki using te reo is a privelege.

Noeline

Learning Te Reo Māori to enhance myself with better understandings, teaching my babies our beautiful language, making sure we embrace, embark and encourage our babies that our Language is our Culture.

Jaleesa