What’s a challenge you overcame?

Wahawaha | Whakatāne

By drawing on the mātauranga of his tūpuna, Wahawaha has found the guidance to create a stronger community.

“Ka mōhio au ko wai ahau, nō hea ahau. (I know who I am and where I am from). If people ask me “oh where are you from bro?” I don’t just say “oh from the East Coast”, I can give them actual kōrero about where I come from, about who we are as a people from where I come from.

A challenge I’ve overcome is my own demons really. Stepping away from te ao Māori (the Māori world) at a young age, and then regathering te ao Māori at an older age. I’ve missed out on a few good role models because the kaumātua that were around when I was younger, they have now passed on, and I’ve missed the wealth of knowledge that they could have offered me.

I draw on ancestors that I’ve met, as well as ancestors that I haven’t met. Because a lot of the time, not everyone is perfect. Our ancestors would’ve had their own hapa (mistakes) as well. They would’ve had their own downfalls as well, but the fact is they got over that, and they carried on, and we are here because they did that.

And haere ake nei (so it continues). Our kids will also come up with their own barriers, with their own mountains to climb. Which they’re gonna have to traverse on their own with the support of their whānau around them, but we need to enable them with the strength of our ancestors so that when it does come to their time, they’ll be all right.

And if we’re not here on this earth to akiaki (encourage) them, we know that they will be alright. Ka ora rātou (they will be well).

If you create that safe environment for your kids, they will create that same safe environment for their kids. And that’s where we will eliminate—well, not eliminate, but we will mitigate—trauma.”