Nick Chin, Lauree White, Cruz Tuhimata, Sarah Lee, Jodie Palatchie and Wendy Hynes.
Kia ora koutou,
Last week our kaumātua travelled from Te Tau Ihu and Levin to Wellington. Despite dodgy weather on Wednesday, the event was a great success. We had a fantastic dinner with Trustee Jeremy MacLeod as MC and there was singing and laughter late into the night. I have never met a nicer and more friendly group of people and I’m glad I had the opportunity to meet more of our kaumātua.
The Kanohi ki te Kanohi hui last Friday was a bit of a wash-out, possibly due to the weather and the hui taking place on a Friday night. The next one will be on Thursday at the end of this month, 27 September.
Yesterday we welcomed our newest staff member Sarah Lee. Sarah joins us from Maataa Waka and is our new Kaiwhakahaere for Programmes and Funding. Nau mai haere mai Sarah we are all excited to have you on the team.
We have a busy schedule over the next two weeks. There will be a blessing and sod turning today at 3pm for the new Ōpaoa Bridge which will be officiated by Paora Mackie. There is a pre-hearing meeting with the Council regards a resource consent application to irrigate the southern shores of Mataora. The Trust meet this Friday and nominations for the two Trustee positions open today.
We will be kicking off Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) this Sunday with the launch of Tangata Rau, Reo Kotahi, our language and cultural revitalisation strategy at Ūkaipō from 11am-2pm. Come along and join us for lunch with Stacey and Scotty Morrison. We will have Whānau Language Packs with some fantastic te reo resources for your home. The following evening from 5.30-7.30pm we have our free Te Reo class and Fish & Chip Night with Anton Matthews and his team from ‘Fush’ in Ōtautahi. These events are fast filling up so please RSVP as soon as possible to events@rangitane.org.nz so you don’t miss out. Also a reminder that the Māori night market, Te Pātaka o Wairau will be taking place at Seymour Square on Friday, 14 September.
Mā te wā
Nick