Mokopuna motivate te reo Māori journey
Mokopuna were the motivator for education consultant Lara Meyer to begin her journey towards revitalising te reo Māori in her whānau.
“My Hoa Rangatira (husband) is Ngāti Pikiao/Ngāti Whakaue… His language is lost to him, and I know it concerns him. I want to make sure, for the sake of our mokopuna, te reo Māori is revitalised in our whānau. I want to greet my future moko in te reo Māori when they arrive.”
Lara’s journey began in 2020 with a Level 1 programme at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa in Whirikōkā. Though she recently walked the graduation stage to receive her tohu (qualification) for Level 4 and enrolled into a full immersion Level 5 programme, Lara says that this is still only the beginning.
“I know that learning Te Reo Māori is a tangible way I can acknowledge my support of my Māori whānau members, my friends, students and my hāpori. Learning te reo Māori has been a lifelong ambition of mine and I am not going to stop until I have learned all that I can.”
Lara encourages anyone considering starting their te reo Māori journey to reach out to their nearest Te Wānanga o Aotearoa campus.
“The journey starts with that first step and learning our national language is a lovely adventure. As we get older, we don’t tend to make an effort to learn new skills and we really should because it is good for us. Learning te reo Māori is good for us, good for our whānau, and good for our national cohesion. We should all learn te reo Māori because when we understand the language and culture of our neighbours, we can be a better neighbour.”
Reflecting on her time at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa so far, Lara says she appreciates the support that she’s experienced throughout her journey.
“I have made great friends. I have no whānau apart from my husband in the town I live in, but I feel
my kaiako and my classmates have treated me like whānau. The kaiako are very knowledgeable and they always make you feel as though you are important to them. I never felt stupid, and I never felt alone.”
Find out more about our te reo Māori programmes.
Pūrongo whakahirahira
Featured stories
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa launches new reo Māori programmes to help te reo thrive for generations to come
For over four decades, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa has created pathways for generations of tauira to learn, speak, teach and live te reo Māori. That legacy has supported the return of te reo Māori to everyday life, from whānau learning their first kupu, to tauira carrying reo onto marae, and into workplaces, classrooms and homes.
Turning a passion for rongoā into community healing
Rongoā Māori has always been part of Patricia Tangira-Falwasser's life, but it was her studies at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa that deepened her knowledge and inspired her to start a business that now serves her wider community.
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa kaimahi claims gold at Waka Ama World Championship
Ken Henry (Te Whakatōhea, Waikato-Tainui) is a Tauira Support Advisor at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa Whakatāne campus who took home gold at the Waka Ama World Championships in Singapore in August.
A passion for taonga Māori takes Chanel to Oxford
What started as a desire to strengthen her reo Māori has taken Chanel Coromandel (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Apakura, Ngāti Whanaunga) on an unexpected path, leading to an opportunity to contribute to the care and preservation of taonga Māori at the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford, England.
Reconnecting to te ao Māori through raranga
Haylee Roussel (Ngāti Rārua, Rangitāne, Ngāti Maniapoto) was searching for a way to reconnect with te ao Māori when she enrolled in the Certificate in Māori and Indigenous Art, Raranga, at the Waiwhero campus of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.
A journey shaped by whānau and a love of tamariki
Members of Tayla-Marie Takawe’s (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Maniapoto) whānau were among the first tauira to graduate from the Bachelor of Education (Primary Teaching) at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.
Finding a deeper sense of self through te ao Māori
Moving to Aotearoa from rural Australia as a teenager, Lily Warring found herself wanting to learn more about the culture and language of the place she now called home.
Creating the spark for business success
With plenty of experience as an electrician, Josh Verstraten was ready to branch out from employee to business owner, but he knew running a successful business would require a new set of skills.
From financial stress to financial freedom for Auckland whānau
For Augustine Kopa, studying the Certificate in Money Management at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa was about creating a better future for her whānau.
Two generations, one reo Māori journey
When Melody Francis (Ngāti Kahungunu) saw the positive impact that studying te reo Māori had on her mum, she decided to jump on the waka and begin the journey alongside her.
