HUMANS OF KAITAIA Passion for helping North’s taitamariki

He uri ahau no¯ te iwi Tarara me nga¯ iwi Ma¯ ori o Te Hiku o Te Ika, E whai pa¯ nga ana ahau ki Te Rarawa, Ngai Takoto me Ngati Kahu.

“Ko te kuaka te¯ tahi o nga¯ tino manu i te rohe o Muriwhenua ko o¯ na tikanga whakahaere i to¯ na¯ kahui he mea pai hei arumanga ma¯ tatou te tangata.”

am the eldest of nine siblings. I was born, raised, and attended school in Awanui and Kaitaia.

My dad passed away when I was 12 from a heart attack playing rugby for Waipapakauri Rugby Club. Actually, he was training, and wasn’t meant to play anymore anyway.

This crazy event in our young lives impacted us all differently. It was followed consecutively by the death of my two grandfathers.

My mum was definitely our rock. She had three young babies, myself and my sister to look after, but she did it, and I helped where I could.

Mum later met our stepfather who had two children, but he also gifted us with another little sister and brother.

One thing I remember from when I was young was teaching my little brothers how to mow the lawns. It was meant to be the old fella’s job, not mine, ha ha ha.

I have had so much work experience in my 33 years from lawn mowing, washing buses, to being a youth mentor. I have worked as a bouncer, and worked alongside some awesome people, like the late Rapine Murray, and the many individuals he introduced me too.

Now I am a part of the Adult and Community Education team at Far North REAP.

I am passionate about Te reo Ma¯ ori me ona tikanga and also have a passion for helping our taitamariki as best I can.

Working as part of the RAID Movement roopu to create suicide awareness and resilience in our youth was an eye-opener.

I can’t wait until this conversation becomes the norm.