My father was the only person who was passed down the tikanga and reo from his grandmother, all of the other whanau turned their back on te ao Māori because of the trauma they faced. My father tried to share the kaupapa with me when I was young but I never really listened. My goal is now learn as much reo and tikanga as possible and share it with other New Zealanders to honour my whakapapa and also show dad that I didn’t turn my back on him. I think all New Zealanders should be able to speak at least some our reo, because it is such a taonga that we are lucky to have. I am struggling with the opportunity to learn reo Māori at this point in my life but I am trying my best and want to connect with people on a similar path to my own.
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