Karen | Papatoetoe, Auckland

“He nui ngā āhuatanga kua pāngia mai ki a au i roto i te āhuatanga o te pāpōuri ki te whānau. Heoi anō, ko tētahi…ā…i te wā i…me kī, he taitamariki tonu tā māua tamāhine, ka rapu, ka whai ia i tētahi tāne me tana hiahia kia wehe atu i te kāinga kia noho tahi me taua tāne.

I te mea, nā māua ko tōna pāpā ia i whakatipu i roto i te hāhi, ko te whakaaro me ū tonu ki ngā āhuatanga o te hāhi. Nā te kore i te hiahia kia whakarongo ki ana mātua, ka wehe atu, ā, ka rua, ka toru tau pea ia e noho wehe ana mai i a mātou. Koinā te wā tino taumaha mā mātou ko tōna whānau.

Ko ngā āhuatanga i pāngia mai, ko te…āhuatanga o te hoa rangatira i a māua ko tōna pāpā e whai kaha ana ki te aroha tonu atu ki a ia, ahakoa ana mahi me tana hiahia, me te mea hoki, i uaua mā māua te noho piri tahi ana nā runga anō i te whakapono, ka kaha karakia, kia tau pai ai te wairua o te whānau. Ā, i tōna wā ka whai aroha anō mātou mōna me te tūtaki anō hoki i tēnei o ana whaiāipo. I tērā wā, ko te whakatau o taua whaiāipo, kua piri tahi ai rāua, ā, kātahi ka mārena rāua. Nā reira, harikoa ana te ngākau i whai oranga mātou katoa ko te whānau.

Nō reira, āe, koirā tētahi o ngā tūmomo wero, kua pāngia ki runga i a mātou ko tōku whānau. Well, kei konei mātou, kei Te Kura Kaupapa Māori ā-rohe o Māngere i tēnei wā. I te wā i mutu au…i whānau mai au ki Kirikiriroa, tokowhā ngā tamariki i roto i tōku whānau. I te wā i mutu au i te kura tuarua ka whakawhiti au ki Te Wānanga Takiura i raro i te maru o Whaea Tuki Nepe. I reira au i ako ai i tōku reo Māori. I taku kuhunga atu ki roto i Te Wānanga Takiura, kāre he paku reo Māori tōku. Nō reira, i puta mai te hiahia me te moemoeā kia haere tonu aua mahi, kia ū tonu au ki Te Reo Rangatira, arā, ko Te Reo Māori tērā. Nā reira, mutu mai taku tau tuatahi ki te ako i te reo, ka haere tonu au te mahi i taku tohu mō roto…kia puta au hei kaiako mō roto i te kura kaupapa Māori, ahakoa he aha te kura, me Māori te kura. Nā reira, ko taku tīmatanga ki te kura nei, i tīmata mai au, e hika mā, i te tau pea 93, taku tīmatanga ki tēnei kura, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori [ā-rohe] o Māngere. Tērā wā, i noho te kura nei ki te marae o Mātaatua, ki roto i te rohe nei o Māngere. I tērā wā, i ako au i ngā āhuatanga e pā ana ki te kaiako i runga, i raro i te maru, i raro i te manaakitanga o tētahi o ngā kaiako i tērā wā. Ā, E toru tau au e ako ana kia puta au hei kaiako mō roto i te kura kaupapa. Koinā hoki taku tīmatanga ki te kura nei. Ka mutu mai i ngā tau e whā au i reira ka riro i ahau taku tohu mō te kaiako kia puta au hei kaiako ki tētahi o ngā kura kaupapa Māori. I tērā wā, i taku tau whakamutunga ki reira ka whānau mai hoki taku tamāhine tuatahi, arā, ko…ināianei, ko taua tamāhine e tū ana hei kaiako mō roto i te kura nei. Mutu mai aku mahi, ka haere tonu mai au ki te kura nei hei kairīwhi. Kātahi ka haere ki te kōhanga reo mahi ai mō ngā tau e rima. Anā, i tērā wā e rima tau te pakeke o taku tamāhine tuatahi, kātahi ka whakawhiti mai ki te kura nei. Nā tōna kore e hiahia kia hara mai ki te kura me tana kaha auē, ka whakaaro ake kia haramai hei kaimahi mō roto i te kura. Tērā wā kāre he tūranga kaiako i te wātea. Ko te tūranga o te hekeretari o te tari tērā e wātea ana. Nā reira, ka tono au mō tērā tūranga. Kātahi ka riro i tērā tūranga. Tēnei wā tonu kua tekau mā iwa tau au i roto i te tari. Heoi anō, hipa atu i te rua tekau tau pea, kua rua tekau mā tau ahau e whanaunga ana, me kī, ki roto i te kura nei, te Kura Kaupapa Māori ā-rohe o Māngere. Kia ora!

Translated 

There are a lot of things I have experienced when it comes to experiencing whānau problems. When our daughter was young, she looked for and sought a boyfriend and she wanted to leave home to stay with her partner. Because her father and I raised her in a religion, we felt that we should all live by the standards of that religion. So because she didn’t want to listen to her parents, she left, and she stayed away from us for about two to three years. It was a very sad time for us and her whānau. Things that impacted us, things to do with domestic spouses, as her father and I had the strength to keep loving her, despite what she did and wanted. It was a trying time for us to be together and because of our faith, we prayed a lot, to ensure peace of mind for the whānau. In time, we were able to rekindle the relationship with her and meet her partner. At that time, her partner had decided they were committed so they married. When they married, we were so happy and the entire whānau felt at peace again. So that’s one of the kinds of challenges which me and my whānau have faced. 

I was born in Hamilton, there were four of us kids in my whānau. When I finished high school, I went on to Te Wānanga Takiura which was under the wings of Whaea Tuki Nepe. It was there that I learnt my Māori language. When I enrolled at Te Wānanga Takiura, I had absolutely no Te Reo Māori. So, in time my desire and dreams grew to continue with those activities, and that I should stick with Te Reo Rangatira, that is, Te Reo Māori. So after my first year of learning Te Reo finished, I continued to do my degree so I could graduate as a teacher specialising in kura kaupapa Māori, no matter what kind of school, it had to be a Māori school. 

When I started at this school, I started in about ’93, with this school, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori [ā-rohe] o Māngere. Back then, the school was based at Mātaatua Marae here in Māngere. I learnt about being a teacher, under the guidance of one of the teachers back then. And, I spent three years studying so I could graduate as a teacher specialising in kura kaupapa. So that was how I started with this school. After four years there I got my teaching degree which enabled me to become a teacher at a kura kaupapa Māori. Back then, in my final year my first daughter was born, and now that daughter is becoming a teacher for this school. Once I finished what I was doing, I’d continue to come here as a reliever. Then I went to kōhanga reo to work for five years. When my first daughter was five years old she came to this school. She didn’t want to come to this school, and she cried so much that I thought I’d become a worker at the school. Back then, there were no teaching positions available. But a secretarial role in the office was available. So, I applied for a position. Then I got that position. Now, I’ve been in the office for 19 years. And perhaps for more than 20-to-25 years I’ve had a relationship, you could say, with this school, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori ā-rohe o Māngere. Thank you!”