Ō Rangaranga with Brad Tipuna

Ko Brad Tipuna tōmu ingoa. Ko au te kaiwhakahaere o Te Maioha o Parekarangi.

My name is Brad Tipuna. I am the manager of Te Maioha Youth Justice Residence.

Nō te mea, ka whakakotahi ai te whānau o Oranga Tamariki mai te Nōta tae atu ki Te Waipaunamu, ā, he mea whakahirahira tērā ki ahau.

...because Oranga Tamariki staff from the North to the South are brought together as one, and that is important to me.

Poho kererū ana ahau, hari koa te ngākau, i te mea, kua whakatū tēnei kaupapa mō Oranga Tamariki, tēnei te mea tuatahi, engari he wheako whakaiti, he hūmārie te noho hei tauira, ā, engari i raro i ngā toki o te ao Māori nei. Nō reira, āe, rawe. Rawe te wheako nei.

I’m proud and ecstatic because this initiative was established for Oranga Tamariki, and this is the first, however, being a student is a pleasant and humbling experence, under the tutelage of Māori worldview exponents. So I say, yes, it was amazing. This is an amazing experience.

Ki au nei, ko te mea nui, ā, me  Māori ake taku kitenga, me Māori ake aku whakaaro, ki taku ao o Oranga Tamariki, te mahi, ki a mātou o Te Maioha. Āe, kia Māori ake, i roto i tōku tūranga, kia Māori ake taku, hei ārahi i ā mātou kaimahi o te kāinga, me te tohatoha i ngā hua kua puta mai i tēnei kura reo i tēnei kaupapa, Ō Rangaranga, ki te hoki ki te kāinga, he tohatoha wērā hua ki a mātou o te kāinga ki ngā kaimahi ki te whakakaha i wā mātou nei mahi i te taha o ngā whānau, ngā tamariki, hapū, iwi, ā, koirā.

As for me, the main thing, is to Māori culturally strengthen my outlook and my thoughts in my Oranga Tamariki spaces, at work, at the Youth Residence. Yep, to culturally strengthen my managers position, to culturally strenthen...to lead our staff from the residence, as well as distribute the learning from this language seminar, this initiative of Ō Rangaranga. On returning to the residence, we will pass on any learning to our staff to enhance our work alongside the families, children, subtribe and wider tribal affiliations, ah, that’s it in a nutshell.

...ā, tēnei te wā tuatahi o Ō Rangaranga, nō riera, āe, e mihi ana ki tērā, te whakatū i tēnei kaupapa, engari, ko te wero kei mua i a tātou, ā, kia pai haere wēnei kaupapa, ā, mō ngā marama, ngā tau kei te haere mai, kia huakina ngā kēti ki te katoa, ahakoa Māori mai, tauiwi mai, pākehā mai, nō wāhi kē, haere mai ki tēnei kaupapa o Ō Rangaranga ki te whakaako, ki te whakamana i tō tātou reo.

...mmm, this is the first Ō Rangaranga, so, yes, I acknowledge that, the establishment of this initiative, however, the challenge that we face, ah, is to improve these initiatives for the following months and years, to open the initiative for everyone, whether they’re Māori, a foreigner, european, or from other places, come to Ō Rangaranga to learn and give effect to our language.

Tērā mea, te whakapakari, me te whakamana i tō tātou nei reo rangatira, tō tātou nei reo Māori, ā, he mea whakahirahira ki tēnei ao o Oranga Tamariki, ki au nei, āe, te whakapakari, me tēnei mea te whakamana i tō tātou nei reo rangatira.

That aspect, strenthening and validating our noble language, our Māori language, it is an important aspect for Oranga Tamariki. In my opinion, yes, strenthening and validating our noble language.