Me taipari whakarewa waka nga whakaaro. Kei nga puhi maku, kei nga puhi maroke o te motu, whakaripi mai ki Te Hui. Ko Mihingarangi tenei e mihi atu nei, nau mai, tahuti mai ra. Welcome to The Hui, Maori current affairs for all New Zealanders. Copyright Able 2018 Karahuihui mai and welcome to our Easter weekend edition of The Hui, where we look back at some of our favourite stories. Enjoying quality time with the mokos is what many dream of for their retirement. Changing nappies, doing the school run and supervising homework aren't usually on the list. But that's the reality many kaumatua are facing as more and more grandparents are left to raise their moko. And many are enduring financial hardship, because they don't want to see their mokopuna end up in care. Kei a Ruwani Perera te roanga ake o nga korero. (RELAXED GUITAR MUSIC) They're in the twilight of their lives, but instead of putting their feet up, they're being run off them. Orange girl! (LAUGHS) If I was 20 years younger, I'd be out there running around with them full-time, but unfortunately I can't do that. Their kids might all be grown up, but now these koros and nannies are bringing up their children's babies. What's going to happen to our mokopuna when we go? It's maemae to think about. All right. Woop! Kaumatua stepping in to raise their moko when their own children are no longer in the picture. Ko te tamariki, ko te mokopuna te mea tuatahi. Grandparents take on the responsibility of looking after their grandkids, sacrificing their golden years for these children whose parents can no longer look after them. Often these children come into their lives under difficult or tragic circumstances, involving family violence, drugs or alcohol. It's been more than 30 years between babies for 68-year-old Rima Herbert, who's now raising his moko. I'm changing nappies! (LAUGH) You know? Did you think at 68 you'd still be changing nappies? No. No, not at all. Not at all. Rima took in his daughter's four kids after he found out that she and her partner were using methamphetamine. They range in age from 2 years old to 9 years old. We were only going to have them for one year in 2013. Well, four years later, we still got them. I won't give them back ` my wife won't give them back ` until the parents are at a level where they can care for their children and definitely off the drugs. Keeping them safe is his number one priority, giving his grandkids a stable and loving whanau environment. I think you'll find that everybody who knows that indulges in that terrible drugs, there's going to be violence, and it overflowed onto the children and that's one thing that I didn't want ` is that they be exposed to that, because it's no good for anybody. One of the biggest struggles for kaumatua is navigating their way through the complex social welfare system. Work and Income would definitely be one of the main issues that our kaumatua and kuia face in terms of paperwork. Victoria King is a kaiarahi, or social worker, with Manukau Urban Maori Authority and sees the challenges these grandparents face. What's plan B? She and her team have seen an increase in kaumatua seeking their help when caring for their mokopuna. Being able to comprehend and understand the processes, and that's why we feel as kaiarahi it's really important that we can advocate and also explain that process to them. Victoria says often what they need is help getting a bigger home. A lot of our kaumatua and kuia are living in small whares, and so they're having to expand so that they can accommodate to their mokopuna. Let's go. Come on. Once they've got them housed, they need to get them fed. There is some government support. Kaumatua can get up to $200 per child, per week. But this help, for many, doesn't stretch far enough to cover food costs. Auckland City Mission has noticed an increased demand for elderly people accessing their food bank services. One of the things that we hear constantly is that food becomes the discretionary item, so that on a limited budget that, at the end of the day, food is the last thing that is bought, so it becomes truly discretionary, where rent might not be or transport or medical care. I just can't believe that food's becoming a discretionary item. And I share that un-belief, to be honest. I'm so proud of this country that we belong to and at times deeply ashamed of the reality that I see. And one of the realities I see constantly day in, day out is the need of many people for food. What is going on in the reality of families' lives that grandparents are needing to step in in this way? 63-year-old Kathleen Samuels' two grandkids turned up on her doorstep with a police officer last October. They uplifted the children and brought them here. Do I want the children? Or they'll take them into custody to CYFS. So I took them. Mm. Kathleen's son and daughter-in-law went their separate ways, leaving their kids in limbo. It's been a long, scary road for me. I really cried when I had to have the kids, because I wasn't well myself. Not just battling ill health, but also government departments. We do struggle with WINZ. Maybe because we don't know what to ask for or how to, you know, in a proper way. We're not there to use and abuse them, you know? We're really genuine. We're going in there to get things for the children. It's not for us. Many grandparents are retired on fixed incomes. They're faced with extra demands on their finances when they take their grandchildren in. Most of our mokopuna that do come into the care of our grandparents generally come with either the clothes on their back or a bag of clothes, and that's pretty much it. So our grandparents are having to find, obviously, how to clothe them, how to feed them, where do they sleep. And all of those things can impact on not just the children, but also the grandparents, and where do they go to find all those things? It's a steep learning curve for these kaumatua, back in the parenting game decades after their own kids left home. Is it different being a grandparent to a parent? I think so. If you're a parent, you've got more energy than I will ever have. That's it. But for some, parenting the second time around has given them a whole new lease on life. Kakama ake au i nga rangatahi nei. Ko oku tau inaianei 75. He kotiro tonu. Ki ahau nei 21. (LAUGHS) She keeps you young. (LAUGHS) 75-year-old Wai Kaihe needs all that youthful energy, legally adopting her 10-year-old granddaughter, stepping up as her full-time carer. Nesha wasn't even a year old when her nan came to her rescue. As she always says, child comes first. Just wish I could repay her back for what she done for me. Wai's son died of a heart attack when he was just 30 years old, but he was clear about who should take care of his baby if anything happened to him. That was your son's wish, that you would have Nesha? Penei tana korero, kotahi ano te wahi pai mo taku kotiro ki te taha o taku whaea. Nesha's mother left when she was just a baby, and she hasn't seen her since. Engari e mohio ana au, etahi wa ka whakaaro taku mokopuna, kei whea ra taku mama. Tino aroha au ki tera ahua. Tena pea ka puta mai, ko wai ka mohio, kaore maua e mohio ana? Mehemea kei te ora, kei whea, kaore maua e mohio ana. Generations might separate the pair, but there's no denying the special bond they both share. Paia mai awhi. He pai maua ko taku mokopuna. Ko nga takaro, ko nga korero rukahu, nga korero harihari, waiata, ko maua tena. (LAUGHS) Kia a au nei waimaire te kotiro nei. Nga mokopuna e tipu ana i te taha o o ratou tipuna, tino waimaire. Your nan's pretty special to you, Nesha? I love her because she took me in when I was only 9-and-a-half months. It's like she saved me from a bad thing. These kaumatua have given their moko a second chance, providing a loving and stable home, but they know they'll never take the place of their mum and dad. BOTH: I aue, hi! (LAUGHS) Nga tau tekau kua pahemo ake nei, karekau. He` Ki taku titiro, kua oti i ahau te patai o tana matua. Etahi wa ka titiro au ki te whakaahua o tana matua ka korero atu au mehemea i konei koe, ka kite koe i te ahua o to kotiro. Do they miss their parents? Oh, yes. 'Course they do. You know, you can see that sadness in their eyes. I do. I see it all the time. Just got to give them a lot of love. Where possible, they live in the hope that their moko will one day be reunited with their parents. While they never saw themselves raising kids again, they're making the best of their situation, doing their very best for their moko. I have a job to do now, and it's taking care of those mokos, and so I have to be prepared to make sure that I'm thinking right, my body's strong enough to do that. If you don't do that, you're going to go down. And I didn't wanna do that, for the mokos' sake. You know, if I get sick and something happens to me, who's going to have my mokos after I go? And are they going to get the same love and caring that they're getting now? Ko ia taku topito o te ao. Na Rewani Perera tera purongo. Kia mau tonu mai ra, after the break Mike McRoberts with a prisoner rehabilitation scheme that's changing lives. (RELAXED GUITAR MUSIC) Hoki mai ano. Well, the figures don't lie. Currently four out of five Maori prisoners are re-convicted within five years of being released. The Waitangi Tribunal says the Crown had breached its treaty obligations by failing to address the high rate of Maori reoffending. And while reports have been written about how to reverse that trend, a prisoners aid organisation and a former Kiwi league star are making a real difference one young Maori at a time. Anei te purongo a Mike McRoberts. (GENTLE GUITAR MUSIC) In a quiet neighbourhood in South Auckland, 19-year-old Xavier Tikena is literally building his future. Like so many young Maori who have served time, this is a crucial period for the Nga Puhi teenager. Definitely major difference. I didn't know how to work, didn't know what to do, didn't know how to get up early hours in the morning, let alone having to make my own lunch for myself. And having the bros here helping me out is... it's tremendous, you know. They've changed my life around. Xavier served two months here at Mt Eden prison for car conversion and theft. When he left here three months ago, he was determined not to go back inside. But that's easier said than done. The statistics around Maori reoffending are terrible. 64% will be reconvicted within two years of being released; 80% within five years. A stone's throw from Mt Eden Prison is PARS, formerly known as the Prisoners' Aid and Rehabilitation Society. The charitable organisation has been helping prisoners and ex-prisoners and their families for years. (INDISTINCT GREETINGS) Knowing Xavier was about to be released from prison, his mum rang PARS for help. As he walked out the front gate, they were there to meet him. Actually let's have a look at all your... His new life was underway, thanks to a phone call. With Xavier, it was different. There was just something about him, that I could see that this was never part of his life journey, you know. It was never supposed to be an option for him, but it was. It ended up being a choice that he made, and he ended up in prison. But him coming out and coming into our services and just seeing that he was like, 'Nah. 'This is not gonna be my life. I've got passions. I've got dreams.' The biggest thing about Xavier is he wasn't ashamed to tell what he was really passionate about. People like that, when they're just wanting to make a change, you've got to take it while you can. (MAN PERFORMS KARAKIA) One of the services PARS provides is short-term accommodation for recently released prisoners. During their 12 weeks here, they'll be helped with reintegration ` things like setting up bank accounts, permanent accommodation, and work opportunities. Such is the demand on a resource like this, the home needs to be extended. Its renovation and the construction of a new wharekai is also a perfect opportunity to provide some of the former prisoners with building skills, working under the supervision of the project's contractor. And what a contractor ` former Kiwi rugby league great and now self-made businessman Richie Barnett. When you peel back the layers, you understand the constraints they have when they come out of prison. There's just too many. There's too many roadblocks, in my mind, for them to even succeed, to even get their foot in front of the other. There's stuff like accommodation when they get out, how're they going to get accommodated, their family ties have been broken for whatever reason that is, transport, finances. So there's too many constraints for them to even get a look in, to actually see themselves a light at the end of the tunnel. So people don't realise that there are so many constraints, and they are really set up for failure in my mind. So I guess things like this and I'm sure a lot of other companies and a lot of other people help support this initiative to try and get these guys back on track. Richie Barnett has been so impressed with the PARS programme, he's now partnering with them, offering not just building skills for the ex-prisoners, but personal mentoring. 'These are the three things I wanna achieve today.' Yes. Yeah. And then do those things. And if you don't, you know, you're always accountable for it because you've written it down. 'We understand that it's not gonna be all easy and rosy. We understand that. 'But I think if you can just take one of those guys and turn them into something,' I mean that's pretty exceptional. So if we can just start them... I guess, like anything, you've just got to start. So if we can just provide an opportunity for these guys to see there is an opportunity in life, maybe open their mind a little bit wider than what they have, well, that's great. With a positive attitude and a loving family, Xavier knows he's one of the lucky ones. But until more young Maori can get the kind of guidance and mentoring Richie Barnett and PARS counsellor Mark Graham are providing Xavier, Maori reoffending will continue to be a national shame. You know, I remember kids from 8 years old that I used to work with in the justice system, and then I see them now as adults in prison. It shows that this is a system that's never worked and will never work unless something's changed. So I can see why they have no faith in terms of the system that they're in and that's gonna provide them any relief coming out or any kind of support that's gonna stop them from reoffending. Pretty awesome experience to be mentored by Richie Barnett, yeah? Definitely, yeah. A big eye-opener for myself ` being locked up in prison and having to come out, having them to support me as being a bit of a male figure for myself, as I was raised by females most of my life and I didn't really know what to do, let alone being a man. And having Richie and Mark step in to the plate and being that male figure for myself has really opened my eyes to what I really want to be and how to achieve my goals, so having them on my side is the best thing that could have ever happened for me. Xavier is an outgoing, confident teenager ` characteristics he's showed throughout his life. WOMAN: So you've got the pH testing kit there. Yeah. Here he is, a proud 8-year-old, growing vegetables at his primary school. We just shake it up a little bit and see where the colour is. What I found is that his passion wasn't really building. He's been told so often that, 'This is where you should go', but what was really underneath that, he drew it out. He said, 'You know what? I really love landscaping, 'but I've been told I should be directed in this position.' I said, 'Well, that's what it is.' The great thing is I said, 'What is your purpose in life?' And he goes, 'You know, I see myself as a sunflower, you know. 'I want to grow, and I want to flourish at the end.' And I said, 'Well, that's exactly what your purpose is.' It's not often you hear a 19-year-old describe himself as a sunflower, and this one is definitely bending towards the light. He doesn't want to go back to prison. I started missing my brother and my mum a lot when I was in jail, and, yeah... It just started breaking me apart. And, yeah, when I got out, that was it. That was the line, pretty much. Drew the line there ` no more prison for me. Your time inside, did it give you an opportunity to reflect on what you might do when you got out? Yeah, definitely. You know, it made me think... you know, if I did something bigger than this, you know, I could have been in here for much longer. Yeah, you know, I leant from my wrong, and that's not the place for me to be, so I've given up on my wrong and looked towards people that can support me and help me out, really. You know, I love building, but my passion is forever going to be gardening and landscaping. Since getting out of prison, Xavier has been working off 400 hours of community service. Turns out the work is gardening. And he's already done more than half of it. Na Mike McRoberts tera purongo. Kei tua o nga whakatairanga, we meet the new generation of reo Maori speakers. Welcome to The Hui, Maori current affairs for all New Zealanders. Tahuti mai ano. It's been 30 years since te reo Maori became an official language of Aotearoa. The battle to enhance the status of te reo was partly motivated by a desire to save the next generation of Maori from the pain, shame and sense of inadequacy that comes with not being able to communicate in your mother tongue. Now that struggle is bearing fruit. Anei te purongo a Raiha Paki. (UPBEAT MUSIC) It's been three decades since the Maori language was made an official language of Aotearoa. There's now a generation of tamariki who've only ever lived in a world with te reo Maori. So I've come back to my old school, Toku Mapihi Mauria, to talk to four sets of siblings about what it means to grow up in their world. He aha te reo pai ki a koe? Nga mea katoa. BOTH: Maori. He aha ai? Na te mea he maua. He mama ki te korero. Oh, reo Maori. Ne? Na te mea kaore te taea korero i the other language. Ka pai ahau ki te reo. He tino nui te reo, ki te mate. Na te mea no Aoteroa nei te reo Maori, ehara ano iwi ke. Na te Maori te reo Maori. Na te mea he rawa ake ki te korero te reo Pakeha. Engari, mena ko korero ki te reo pakeha, ka mate te whenua. Ko wai tetahi tangata pai ki te korero Maori? Stan Walker. Ne? (LAUGHS) Kingi Tawhiao. To whawha. Koro. He aha ai? Ka korero Maori ia ki a ratou maha nga wa. Toku nana. Ne? Nana died. Uh-oh. Me pehea te tiaki a te tuakana i te teina? Ma te oha te roa. Ma te... hoko rawa ahau? He` Me aroha... me whakaponokia ana mahi. Ae. Me tino whakaponokia ana mahi, nera? Ae. (GROANS) (LAUGHS) Me pai te tiaki ki to teina, kaua patu ia. awhi ia mean ki te tangi ia. Ka aha to whakaponokia ana mahi? Kao. (LAUGHS) Na runga tena, he tuakana pai koe? Ae. Kao! He taku teina, taku tungane. He pai te tiaki a to tuakana i a koe? Kao. Ne? Ko aha tera? (LAUGHS) Pai te tiaki a to tuakana i a koe? Kao. (LAUGHS) He aha kore ai? Ka amu ia ki au. (GASPS, LAUGHS) Ka whakahoha i au! He aha tenei mea te aroha? (GASPS) Um, te manaaki tangata. He mea pai. He mea whakawhanaungatanga, a te tai ki te tai. Mean ka pai ake tetahi tangata, ara, ka pai i ake ahau. He tauira, um, mena ki te mauiui to nana, ka taea te noho ki tona taha ki te ahua, whangaia, ki te a nga kaputi. Ka wera, nei? Me pehea ta korua whakatuhi te aroha ki a korua? (ALL LAUGH) He aha tenei mea te manaakitanga? Ko te manaakitanga, ko te, like, tiaki tetahi tangata mena kei te tangi ratou. Me manaaki e nga tangata. Mean ka taka tetahi, ta te kaue e katakata me te kore hikoi atu. Me manaaki nga rawa kore. Me pehea to manaaki nga rawa kore? Me te hoa atu i te rawa etahi kakahu mahana me i te kai. Mena he rawa kore tetahi, ka taea` taea, um, haere a ratou ki te a matou kainga ki te moe. Koia nei te patai whakamutunga. He aha o wawata mo te wa ka pakeke korua? He ka takaro poitukohu. Ka mahi au i tetahi mahi pena ki a koe. Ka pai tenei mahi! Haere ki te whare wananga ki te ako pewhea ki te mahia takuta. Whai mahi. He aha te momo mahi? Whakatika motoka. Ka pai. He kaiako ki tetahi kura. Kura Maori? Ae. Ka toku haere atu ki te Whare Wananga o Waikato ki atu he kaiako. Tera pea takaro i te poitukohu mo Aotearoa. Ki te mahi te mea roia ki a poha i au maha nga moni. (LAUGHS) Whakaaro pai tena. (ALL LAUGH) Manaakitangha, aroha, and caring for our most vulnerable. It's not just the language, but the values these tamariki are learning. Safe to say both our reo and our future are in good hands. Na Raiha Paki tera purongo. Kua hikina Te Hui mo tenei ra. Pai marire ki a tatou katoa. Captions by Able. www.able.co.nz Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2018.