Challenge Stories

By learning te reo Māori, 22-year-old Sophie Doyle hopes to be an example to her whānau and generations to come.

Sondra Bacharach is no stranger to education. Having been fortunate enough to experience a range of diverse cultures, Sondra values learning and embracing the culture and the language of the country that she lives in.

From someone with no te reo Māori knowledge to now being able to speak te reo Māori all day, every day if he chose, Ruebin Reti has evolved into a beacon of inspiration.

Pare Edmonds and Jonathon Glanville may come from differing backgrounds and lead distinct personal lives, but one thing they do have in common is their love for te reo Māori and their dedication to master the language.

Described as a board game for a bilingual Aotearoa, KAUPAPA uses both Māori and English kupu to help players expand their Māori vocabulary all while having ‘hysterical fun’.

E kīia nei a KAUPAPA, he kēmu mā Aotearoa reorua, e whakamahi nei i te reo Māori me te reo Pākehā hei whakawhānui ake i te puna kupu i roto i te ‘wairua pukuhohe’.

After attending a whānau reunion and learning that no one in his whānau could kōrero Māori, James Tautuku took it upon himself to learn te reo and keep it alive amongst his whānau.

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa has been able to support an organisation with professional development, offreing te reo Māori classes to a group of their Wellington based kaimahi.

Not many people would think of taking up tertiary education in their 80’s, but that’s not the case for Rangi Hinga.

When Mereana Gell returned to Aotearoa after many years overseas, she felt out of touch with te ao Māori. So Mereana set out to learn and change her old way of thinking.