Pounamu Student Profile

    In this issue:

• Issue 7 home
• Mihi
• New Acting Manager for PDS
• Ngā Peka Mātauranga o Waitaha
• Regional Facilitators

Ngā Peka Mātauranga o Waitaha

Christchurch based provider Ngā Peka Mātauranga o Waitaha celebrated a milestone this month with the graduation of two of their adult students in a Bachelor of Arts - Māori. Ngā Peka teaches the degree programme in conjunction with Canterbury University.

The course was established because there was only about only 3% of Māori going to university. "We wanted to get more Māori through the system and into that academic field," says Administrator Evelyn Riddell.

"The students meet at Ngā Peka at 8am and are driven to university by their tutor. They study as a group and when they return to Ngā Peka they discuss their lectures. When we have them back here we encourage them to discuss and research what they have learnt that day," she says.

Ngā Peka has a team of three tutors who are all past students. "They know their stuff. They've all been through it before," says Miss Riddell.

Shafia Stevens (BA - Māori)

Student Profile

Shafia Stevens (third from right) with her daughters

Shafia was born in Dunedin and moved to England when she was three-years-old. Shafia has four daughters who have gradually followed and moved back to Aotearoa. "When I left England it was just me but they're all here now and I feel as though we have come home."

What bought you back to Aotearoa?

"I came back to New Zealand because I really wanted to find out about my Māoritanga so I enrolled at university and the first lecture I went to I ended up sitting next to Matiu (tutor) and he told me to come over and have a look at Ngā Peka and I've been there ever since. I think that being an older student that I really would have struggled at University but in Nga Peka you get a lot of motivation and support."

What was the best thing about studying at Ngā Peka?

"Well I think for me it was the whānau feel about it. I don't think we would be supported this way in any other learning environment. Everyone at Ngā Peka is at a level that they are comfortable with and it's great seeing more Māori people having the confidence to go down this route."

Ariana Te Whetu (BA - Māori)

Student Profile

How did you hear about Ngā Peka?

Ariana Te Whetu

Would you believe it was a WINZ case officer?

I enrolled on a course at Uni and went in to tell WINZ and they referred me to Ngā Peka.

What do you think is the difference between Ngā Peka and mainstream?

"I think that Uni can be a very lonely place, you could spend years there and never talk to anyone. I also think that we as Māori do things better in groups.

Uni gives me theory and papers but Ngā Peka has given me the practical skills. I know pōwhiri 'cos we've done it. I know how to karanga. I know how to take care of Manuhiri. I know tikanga. Ngā Peka provides the support and back up for us to succeed at Uni.

At Ngā Peka we are given the option of Te Ataarangi as well so we can learn Te Reo the university way and then we can back it up with Te Ataarangi here at Ngā Peka which I think gives us better grounding."

What do you want to study?

"I'm not sure what I'm going to do next. Every time I learn something new I change my mind. At the moment I'm studying journalism at Aoraki Polytechnic."

Matiu Rudolph

Tutor Profile

Matiu Rudolph - Tutor at Ngā Peka

Matiu Rudolph makes a special contribution to Ngā Peka. He is a tutor and an ex-student who teaches his courses inside a prison.

Matiu has been teaching in the prisons for two years full time but has been going out there on and off for about 7-8 years. He teaches at two wings in Paparua, three in Rolleston and three at the Women's Prison in Templeton.

"What I do covers everything within Māoritanga - Te Reo for beginners, Waiata, Haka, Mau Rakau and Mau Patu," he says.

What is it like teaching students in prisons?

"Some days it's hard. I suppose the environment they're in doesn't help and when they only get to see me once a week it's hard on them.

The people who usually come to the classes all have a desire to be there. The majority of the people I see in prison just haven't found their identity as Māori yet. Most of my clientele are short-term, which means they are only in for a short stint and then are back out in the community. I do have some long-termers or lifers and they're great motivators for the other boys. Most of them would make good tutors and kaiako themselves."

What do you think is the main drawcard for people attending your classes?

"I think the main thing is for those who come in to learn about the culture and to grab something within the culture that excites them. The hope is that when they get out, they will dive into it fully and will choose to follow it as far as it can go.

I think a big part of my job is the Taha Wairua and one thing I try to encourage in my akonga is to get real with their taha wairua."

What's the best thing about what you do?

"The best thing about this job is watching the men and women change. I see people put on a lot of fronts when they first come into my classes. Sometimes they come over quite staunch, or shy, or you even see people who look nervous - who seem very much on edge all the time.

I like to watch them change over time. As we become friends the barriers come down and the walls break down and we just enjoy each other. Then we both have the chance to learn from one another and it's not just them learning because I learn too.

I feel like I'm among mates, I can relate to many of the things they've dealt with in the past and I've learnt how to deal with things in different ways. I think it goes back to Karakia again the Taha Wairua as a life line."

How did it all begin?

"I didn't start at Ngā Peka as a tutor - I started as a student and I was fortunate that a position became available.

The kura has provided me with a wonderful family environment as a student and now as a tutor. Through them I've been able to gain my identity as a Māori."