Ō Rangaranga with Carla Rupuha

Ko Carla Rupuha tōku ingoa. He Kairaranga ā-whānau ki Waitakere kei te uru o Tāmaki taku tūranga.

My name is Carla Rupuha. My role is Kairaranga ā-Whānau at the Waitakere site in West Auckland.

Taku waimārie, waimārie tātou katoa i tae mai. Akahoa kāore au nō konei, te marae nei, te hapū, me te iwi i tākoha mai, koutou te haukāinga ki ngā kōrero hei, hei akiaki i ngā wawata kei roto i ahau.

I am blessed, all who have arrived are blessed. Although, I am not from here, the venue, the subtribe, and the wider tribal affiliation, and you the locals have gifted these stories to enourage my own aspirations.

He rawe, he rawe, he wāhi mā tātou. He wāhi anō. Āe, me whiwhi ngā rauemi, ngā pūkenga anō, ā, ka whakapakari te reo hei āwhina i a mātou i te mahi, engari, ā, ka noho hei ako, hei whakawhiti kōrero, ā, he pai noa tērā, ka waiho te mahi ki te taha, he rawe.

It was excellent, an excellent location for us. A different place. Yes, we received resources, and skills that help strengthen te language used within our work. We occupy a space of learning, and discussions, and the benefits of that. We set aside our job life, it’s amazing.

Waimārie au anō, ā, tokomaha ngā kaimahi Māori ki taku tari. Tokomaha ngā kaimahi kei te hia, kei te hia ki te whai i ngā taonga o tātou, engari he rerekē ngā taumata kei roto. Ka āta haere, ki te nuinga o rātou, ki ētahi atu ka piki anō te mahi mā rātou, he pai. Ki ahau nei, piarangi au i a rātou ka whai ake i ngā pūkenga mā rātou anō.

I am also fortunate to have many Māori colleagues in my office. Many of these staff want to learn the treasures bestowed upon us, however there are multiple learning levels. The majority of them take a slow approach, while others are more inclined to speed along, which is good. As for me, I hope that they pursue higher levels of language fluency for themselves.

Kāore e tū koutou Ō Rangaranga, Te Hāpai Ō, kāore mātou i konei.

If Te Hāpai Ō hadn’t established Ō Rangaranga we wouldn’t be here.

Me pēhea, me pēhea te kōrero ki a koutou o Te Hāpai Ō? Nā koutou i tākoha mai, nā koutou i akiaki mai, i poipoia mai i a mātou i roto i tēnei āhuatanga, ā, kore e mimiti aku mihi ki a koutou.

How can I express this to the team of Te Hāpai Ō? You have gifted, encouraged, and nurtured us through this situation, and I am sincerely grateful.

Ko te wawata māku, ā, ka tirohia ngā upoko o tā mātou mahi, he tino valuable me kī, ā, ēnei wānanga, ā, i roto i te āhuatanga o o tātou tīpuna.

One thing I suppose I would like to see is our upper level management understand the value of these language seminars taught under the auspices of ancestral intelligence.

Ko te wawata, ka tū he wānanga anō, mō te tau nei, nā te mea toko maha ngā kaimahi o Oranga Tamariki mai te motu, tokomaha. Nā reira, me whakahoahoa pea te wāhi nei ki a rātou katoa.

I hope to see another of of these, this year because there are multiple staff members of Oranga Tamariki from all around New Zealand, heaps. So, they should all be given the opportunity to experience this place.

Whakatū ngā wānanga, ia marama, e aua, me whakatū ngā wānanga anō. Mai ki tēnā pito o te motu, ki tēnā pito, ki tēnā pito. Ahakoa, ko tēnei te wānanga tuatahi, kāore i te wānanga whakamutunga. Āe, he tino pai.

I think we should have monthly seminars, maybe, but we should have more. In all areas of New Zealand, here, there and everywhere. Although this is the first language seminar, it certainly won’t be the last. Yes, it was excellent.