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In 2007, I am involved in three activities on the Massey University campus: Te Rangahau Pia academic achievement program; kaimahi for Te Waka o nga Akonga Maori (co-representative for the Te Mana Akonga Rep position and also the Faculties Rep); and class representative.
In 2006 I was class representative for two of my Bachelor of Speech Language Therapy (BSLT) papers and in 2007 for five of my BSLT papers in semester 1. With respect to these activities, I wanted to be able to give something back to the University community, and that is why I got involved.
In the wider community, I am the mother of two teenage children and my niece of 13 years who comes to stay every weekend. Not to forget the three rescue cats and dog - needless to say, I have a busy household. I have been a host for overseas students who come to New Zealand for nearly four years. I enjoy being a home-stay host because it provides me the opportunity to manaaki these tauiwi and share a little of my Maoritanga with them.
I have also completed my training as a Child Youth and Family (CYFs) caregiver, and currently have two tamariki (a five year old girl and a seven year old boy) in my care. I decided to become a CYF caregiver when I saw the horrendous injuries to Delcelia Whittaker and the cases that followed including James Whakaruru and Lillybing. What hurt even more was that the media had portrayed child abuse as a "Maori" problem, which I believe is a distorted view of Maori parents and families. I became a CYFs caregiver to nurture those tamariki that had been abused, but also to role model the fact that not all Maori are child abusers.
In 2004, I volunteered at Nga Whare Maha Kohanga Reo, and it was at that time that I realised that our tamariki have a high level of speech language deficits. Unfortunately, there are not many Maori Speech Language Therapists (SLTs) in New Zealand; it was this lack of Maori SLTs that motivated me to pursue the BSLT. Once I started studying, I also became aware that our Koroua/Kuia are also having to make-do with non-Maori SLTs. When I graduate with my BSLT, I look forward to filling this gap out there in the Maori community. Not only do our tamariki and Koroua/Kuia deserve to have Maori specialists servicing their needs, our rangatahi also need role models in this field to inspire them to give something back to our people too.
As recipient of The Ford and MET Scholarships -Te Ao Pakihi 2006, I take this opportunity to thank you once more for assisting me in achieving my BSLT degree.
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