When did you last need help?
Tania | Tauranga
Last year was immensely challenging for Tania (Ngāti Rangitihi, Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao, Whakatōhea). She had thrown herself into her reo Māori studies, and then her daughter became very unwell. It was her reconnection with te reo Māori, and the community that came with that journey, that gave her the strength to persist through the struggle.
“Ko tērā taku ao anake. Ko tōku kōtiro, ko te mahi o Te Tohu Paetahi. Ko ērā mea noa iho.
I tēnei tau, kei te whiwhi te āwhina tonu ahau. I te marama o Āperira i te tīmatatanga o te tau, i haere taku kōtiro ki te tākuta. I kī ai ia me haere ki te Pathlab mō tētahi whakamātautau ā-toto. I reira ka puta mai te ohorere, ka haere anō mō tētahi atu whakamātautau ā-toto. Ā muri i tēnā, ka tono rātou ki a ia haere toro tika ki te hōhipera.
I mua i tērā rā he tamaiti pai rawa atu. Kei te ora tonu, kārekau he raruraru, engari i puta mai tētahi mea i roto i tana whakamātautau ā-toto. He tino low platelet count. Kātahi ka hoki au ki konei ki te taha o aku hoa o Te Tohu Paetahi, ka tīmata au ki te kōrerorero mō tēnei āhuatanga. E noho ana ki tōku taha taku hoa, ko tana hoa he hematologist. I waea atu a ia ki tana hoa tāne, ka āwhina a ia i a tātou. I taua rā, kāore au i tino mārama he aha te aha. Kāore au e mōhio he aha te mahi ā muri i tēnei mea. Ka tīmata a ia ki te manaaki i tōku whānau. Ko tērā te wā, ka tau te mauri tau ki runga i te whānau.
Ka tīmata te mārama te mahi e pā ana ki taku kōtiro. Āe, e mōhio ana ahau ko tērā ko te whakarauora o te reo he tino take tēnā ki tōku whānau, ko tērā te aro. Ki te taha o te hauora o tōku kōtiro, āe mōhio au ko tērā te pikitia nui ki tōku whānau ināianei.”
English translation:
“That was my whole world at that time. My daughter, and Te Tohu Paetahi. Just those two things only. This year, I’m still receiving support. During April, at the beginning of the year, my daughter went to the doctors. They said that she needed to go to the Pathlab for a blood test. We received a concerning result, so she had to go back for another blood test. After that, they sent her straight to the hospital.
Before that, she was fine. She was healthy, there were no issues, but something was discovered in her blood test. She had a very low platelet count. And then I came back here with my friends from Te Tohu Paetahi, and I began talking about what had happened. My friend was sitting next to me, and her partner was a haematologist. So she rang her partner, and he helped us. Because on that day, I didn’t really understand what was happening. I didn’t know what to do from then onwards. He started taking care of my family. And it was from then onwards that things started to settle in my family.
We began to understand what we needed to do for our daughter. And I know that reviving te reo Māori is an important issue to my family, and that’s the focus. When it comes to my daughter’s health, I know that that is the main focus for my family at this time.”
Our question for kaikōrero this month was “when did you last need help?” We learned about the diverse demands on the lives of New Zealanders and the incredible support networks they rely on. We got to meet three fresh graduates of Te Tohu Paetahi and spoke to them about the impact reclaiming their language has had on their lives.
