18 Dec Nau mai tōku reo
Toi te kupu
Toi te mana
Toi te whenua
Mauri ora!
He whakautu tēnei ki te wero reo o taku hoamahi, Renei Ngawati. I tērā tau, i tuhia e ia tētahi kōrero i roto i te reo Māori anake. He wero mōna ki te whakamahi te reo e mōhio ana ia. Kua takoto te mānuka. I tēnei tau, kei a au te wero.
Tuatahi ake, kāore au i tipu ake i te reo Māori. I a au e whakaaro ana i taku haerenga ako i te reo Māori, ka huri āku whakaaro ki tōku nan, ki ōku koroua hoki. He kōrero kārangaranga tēnei. Kāore e taea e rātou te kōrero te reo Māori. Kāore e taea e rātou te ako i tō tātou reo Māori. I tino ngana tōku nan ki te ako i te reo Māori, engari, kāhore ia i te ako i tōna reo. He mea pōuri rawa ki a ia. Kua kōrero au ki tōna teina, a, e ai ki a ia, ko te reo Māori he tino hiahia ki a rāua.
I a au e noho ana ki te kura tuatahi, i timata au ki te ako i te reo Māori. Ia wiki, tokowhā o mātou i unu ai te karaehe matua, ka haere mātou ki te karaehe Māori i te wā poto. Tērā taku wheako tuatahi e ako ana i te reo Māori. Kātahi, ka haere au ki te kura waenganui, he ōrite. Ko te nuinga o ōku wheako ako i te reo Māori, he ōrite. I ngana au ki te whakaako ahau, mai i ngā pukapuka. Engari, ahakoa te pai o ēnei rauemi, kāore e taea e au te whakaako ahau.
I te tau 2016 i haere tōku tane, a Wiremu Hohaia, ki Te Wānanga Takiura O Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori O Aotearoa kia ako ai te reo Māori. E noho tonu ana mātou ko ā māua tamariki i Whangārei. He tau nui ki taku tane. He tau nui ki tō māua whanau katoa. I te mutunga o te tau, he ataahua tōna reo. Ka tipu haere taku hiahia ki te ako hoki.
Ka mutu, i tērā tau, timata ai ahau i taku haerenga ki te whakahokia te reo Māori ki tōku arero. I rēhitatia e au ki te Wānanga o Aotearoa kia ako ai i tō tātou reo rangatira. Ehara i te mea māmā, ki te ako i te reo Māori, engari, he mea whakahirahira ki ahau, he mea nunui. Ia Pōhina, ia Pōpare, ka haere au ki te karaehe reo Māori, mō ngā haora e toru. I reira, ka whakapakari ahau i tōku reo.
Tēnei tau, ka ako ahau ki te taumata o Te Rōnakitanga ki te Reo Kairangi (Te Kaupae 5). Ka tika te mihi atu ki ōku kaiako reo Māori, ko Matua Charles Kauwhata rāua ko Matua Pita Morunga, me ngā tini kaiako o Te Wānanga o Aotearoa ki Whangārei. Nā rātou ahau i tautouko, i akiaki hoki. Nā rātou i whāngai te ahi i roto i tōku puku. Nōku te whiwhi.
Ko tētahi o taku tino rauemi ako, ko te kaupapa o Waiata Joy hei te whakapakari me te ako i ngā waiata Māori. Ngā waiata o Te Taitokerau. Nā te whanau o te marae o Pehiāweri i whakatū tēnei kaupapa nui. Ia wiki, tau mai ai te rahi ki te marae o Pehiāweri ki te waiata tahi. Tae mai ai te whanau, te hapū, te iwi, te hapori hoki, ki te whai wāhi i te kaupapa nei. He mea hari, he mea koakoa. Tēnei te mihi atu ki te whanau o Pehiāweri, ki te kaiārahi o te kaupapa, a Joby Hopa. Nōku te honore.
He ara mutunga kore tēnei. E ako ana ahau i ngā wā katoa. Engari, he huarahi ātaahua, he huarahi ora. He hono anō ki tōku ake tuakiri tēnei.
Kia mahara, ko te reo Māori, ko tātou reo. Ka taea e au te kōrero Māori. Ki te haere koe ki te ara ako reo Māori, ka taea e koe te tutuki. Ka taea e tātou!
