Finding the right words; Lifetime wait for kaumatua's new voice
0 Comments | Waikato Times, Jul 21, 2010 | by Karla AKUHATA
James Rawiri delivered a speech in Maori for the first time at a tangi last month.
The 84-year-old always lamented that he and his children could not speak Maori. Three years ago, determined to change that situation, he signed up for the Kahui Karohirohi course with Te Wananga o Aotearoa.
Yesterday Mr Rawiri, who affiliates to the Tainui sub-tribes of Ngati Paoa and Ngati Mahuta, graduated with 20 kaumatua classmates at the Raroera campus in Hamilton.
As well as learning Te Reo Maori, Mr Rawiri also gained computer skills during the course which was designed to give kaumatua skills they could use to help their iwi and families.
Mr Rawiri’s granddaughter Desiree Hughes, who watched her grandfather receive his certificate and an ornamental patu, said eight members of their family had travelled from as far away as Taranaki and Auckland to be with him on his special day.
“We are so proud of him, he has done so well
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