HUMANS OF KAITAIA

doesn’t matter what it is, from medical needs to a pair of shoes to a school trip — our community is so generous. I’d love to bottle up all that generosity and share it out so others can experience how great Kaitaia is.

Watching my girls take the rakau and carry on the mahi I used to do regularly over the years, and being there for wha¯nau, is a beautiful joy for me. The downside to that though is your family want you to organise everything!

My mokopuna keep me going, and they are the reason why I do the mahi I do. From me they learn that we are all kaitiaki and have a responsibility to our land and environment, and the wellbeing of our community. Our children just need safe people around them and they will be capable of doing anything they choose.

Someone who cares about them when they fall over, someone to care for them when they’re hungry, when they’ve got a dream, someone to help build it with them — all tamariki want is someone to believe in them. I want my mokopuna to remember me as the one who will stand up for them when things are hard, the home that they come to when they’re in trouble or need a place to rest. Who makes sure they have a strong plan — an education now and what to look forward to in the future.

I live by the saying that ‘If nothing changes, nothing changes’. I don’t think settling for second gets us anywhere, and people who think like me don’t get liked for it. But we aren’t here to be liked. We have a responsibility to ensure our future is protected and a right to be kaitiaki of our children, our wha¯nau and our community.

That is what my karani ma, my Mum, wanted us to be. That you will be blessed and go away to learn what you need to know, then come back and bless the people.