Kaimahi Kōrero: Renee Namavong for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori

Tēnā koe Renee, thanks for making the time to kōrero with us! First off, can you tell us a bit about what you do here at NHC?

Tēnā koe! I am the Comprehensive Primary and Community Care Teams (CPCT) Lead, part of the Primary Health Networks team.

Can you tell us about your journey with te reo Māori? Are you a native speaker, tauira of kura kaupapa, or learner later in life?

He purapura tēnei o te Kohanga Reo, he raukura ano hoki o te Kura Kaupapa. I am grateful to my parents for ensuring that my brothers and I were raised in te reo māori. In my late teenage years, I was disconnected from my reo and my āo Māori, navigating a world that was so different to what I knew. However, in due time, I have been able to reconnect and am on a journey to learn my native reo and reo o te kāinga.

Being from Ngāti Porou and Ngāpuhi, both reo and tikanga are unique in their own right and the more wānanga I have on my marae and with our own, the more I continue to grow my puna reo. I am a māmā also to tamariki who attend Kōhanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa and I am grateful that there will be a reo Māori and āo Māori world waiting for them once they emerge from te aho matua.

What, if any, are your goals and aspirations for te reo Māori, personally or as a movement?

Personally, to be able to think and dream in te reo māori and that I set a safe environment at home to ensure a prospering reo environment for my tamariki and mokopuna. I used to think it was a weakness that I could only articulate my thoughts in te reo māori because the way it translates loses its beauty, but I lean into that now and it is a great way to connect with whomever I am speaking to.

As part of the movement, I hope to be a safe space for whānau who are on their journey. Whether it’s someone they need to test their kupu hou with, talk whakapapa or even talk through some of their reo challenges that they might be experiencing.

The theme for Te Wiki 2024 is ‘Ake ake ake – A Forever Language’. What does this mean to you?

Ake ake ake - to reconfirm our commitment to the continuation of the prospering of our reo! A language also to me is not only spoken, its in the way we move, we treat ourselves and one another and the dreams we speak over our whānau.

What are you doing to participate in and celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Māori this year?

To attend as many kaupapa that our hapori are holding to celebrate te reo māori and our Māori world! As te reo Māori is our every day, I am also challenging our whānau to bring home karakia and/or waiata or whakatauki, aha rānei, to teach our whānau. I should also note, that my husband is Laos, so our kāinga is already a kāinga reo rua/reo toru and so for our tamariki it’s also important for me to know that they are teaching their pāpā and helping him on his journey too.

What’s your favourite kupu or kīwaha to use at mahi?

Wana nei! It is a celebratory kīwaha. I like to try and challenge myself to use kīwaha or kupu outside or what is widely known. So instead of saying, ‘ka pai’ or ‘tino pai’ you can use, wana nei!

And finally, any words of support for te reo Māori learners?

Hāere tonu! Surround yourself with other reo Māori learners. Alone, you may not feel the impact you are making, however, every small part contributes to the wider movement. And I capture that kōrero by ending with this whakataukī by Princess Te Puea Hērangi:

Mehemea ka moemoeā aha, ko ahau anake. Mehemea ka moemoeā tātou, ka taea e tātou.

If I dream, I dream alone. If we all dream together, then we shall achieve.