- Kei nga puanani o te reo, tau mai ra ki te mara korero o Te Hui. Ko Mihingarangi tenei e mihi atu nei ki a koutou katoa ` I a tatou e whakanui I te wiki o te reo. Welcome to The Hui ` Maori current affairs for all New Zealanders. E taro ake nei ` A Maori med student determined to restore the health of te reo Maori. - Ko Isaac Smiler toku ingoa. He takuta ahau ki te hohipera nei. If it's going to survive for another 100 years, it's kind of on us to revitalise, teach our own children and pass it on. - A story of reclamation. This Maori language week, we celebrate the reo journey of Isaac Smiler. - I had to, you know, just be brave and give it a go. - Then hangi for the hungry. - There are a lot of Maori that are homeless on the streets, and so I'm doing 1000 meals in a week between the two of us in our bubble. - We check out the kaupapa that's feeding hundreds during lockdown. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2021 Tahuti mai ra. It's said that a journey of 1000 miles begins with one step, but when it came to Isaac Smiler's reo journey, it took him halfway across the world and back home again before it even began. Now the descendant of Kahungunu, Waikato and Ngai Tahu is helping others learn te reo all while studying to be a doctor. I tutaki atu a John Boynton ki tenei iho pumanawa. (SOFT PIANO MUSIC) - Ka karawa te puna mohio, kia karawa ki te tu, kia kaitokomauri te puku ki nga rerenga korero o tu a whakarere. - Ngati Kahungunu uri Isaac Smiler is on a journey to reclaim the language of his tupuna. - Te reo's been lost from my whanau for a few generations. It's been lost from my grandfather to my father to me. - But a connection which was once lost is being strengthened again. - I feel like my heart is turned towards my ancestors or to my fathers by learning my language. I feel a stronger connection to them. (LIGHT GUITAR MUSIC) - Every Sunday, Isaac Smiler and his wife, Ngaruaroha, attend service at the Church of the Latter Day Saints. The couple grew up in the church and, for Isaac, his reo journey would be inspired after living in the Philippines for two years on his mission. - I had to learn how to speak their language which is called Bisaia or Cebaono. It has two names. So I spent my mornings studying the scriptures and studying the language and then come around lunchtime would eat, leave the house and start talking to people. It gave us an insight into how... how they think, feel, perceive the world. - But immersing himself in another language and culture left him feeling confused. - I came home almost feeling Filipino. I felt I had a Filipino heart. It was beautiful, and I still love the people and that place a lot. But paying all that attention to the Filipino culture made me think about my own, you know, think about myself and my own blood. And then I started to realise how little I knew about my own culture and language and... world perception, I guess. - Eventually he'd move from the tropics of the Philippines to Otepoti in Te Waipounamu to train as a doctor. - The first year I made it into medical school, that's when I decided, 'OK, it's time 'to take this seriously now.' - Now he's in his fourth year of medical school at the University of Otago. - Side effects, or what are the risks of Clozapine? - Today, he's leading a discussion on Maori health models with his classmates. - Four sides of the house ` taha tinana. - And despite his intense study schedule, he's just as committed to learning te reo Maori. - It's given me a nice break and separation from the stress of medical school. - His wife Ngaruaroha has seen Isaac throw himself into learning ` first by watching lots of Maori children's shows. - Kia pai to ra, e hoa ma! - Just watching any Maori programmes like Waka Huia, Takaro Tribe was like his first few. - Not like I understood what they were saying. I was just, again, immersing myself, trying to copy what they would say and how they would sound and stuff. - Why don't you dedicate yourself so much by doing all these things, having it in the home? - Just 'cause that's how I learned in the Philippines, being surrounded by it all the time. I couldn't do that here in Dunedin, so I had to artificially create an environment where the reo was spoken all the time. - His next goal was creating a reo environment at the University of Otago Medical School. - Ko Isaac Smiler toku ingoa. He takuta ahau ki te hohipera nei. - Isaac set up beginner reo classes for med students at the university. - Tena korero mai he aha te take I haere mai ai koe ki te hohipera. - He mamae ki taku puku. - His friend and fellow med student Nic Sinnott is also on his reo journey. And they both see the massive benefits of trainee doctors learning the language. - It means a lot, as Maori as well, actually, to be able to use te reo in our practise 'cause we're, at the end of the day, here to help people. And if that's one extra thing we can do to remove a barrier to primary health care, then we want to do it. - Mistrust between Maori and the health system is, historically, quite big. It's just one of those ways to increase that trust between doctors and Maori patients is understanding their world view, which you can't do any better than through learning te reo Maori. - Now te reo Maori is an everyday part of Isaac's life, from his home to his studies and his other love ` basketball. He often talks team strategy in te reo Maori. - Tena korero mai ` ka aha kore I te kemu nei. He aha to rautaki? - Ahua poto ahau no reira me whakamahi au... Me takaro ano ahau he tangata taroaroa. - Oh! My biggest barrier` I guess obstacle, was the fear of mistakes. You know, the shame. You don't want to try and have a conversation with te reo Maori, and yeah, they look all confused at you and... so you feel bad. (LAUGHS) You feel whakama and a bit embarrassed. Kaore e kore ka pou taku hou... I tenei kemu. - Taua hoki. - (CHUCKLES) - Me haere au ki te whare kore tinana I etahi wa. - Aua. Aua. I had to, you know, just be brave and give it a go. And then if it doesn't go so well, then remember that, correct the mistake I had and carry on. - He knows he still has a long way to go, but he's even inspired Ngaruaroha to learn te reo. So what's been the most rewarding part of Isaac's journey and you be getting your own? - Just having it more, I guess, present in our lives. - The revival and survival of our language is kind of in our generation, rangatahi and taiohi. So, yeah, if it's going to survive for another 100 years, it's kind of on us to revitalise, teach our own children and pass it on. - Koia kei a koe, Isaac. And that story was shot prior to lockdown. Kia mau tonu mai ra, e hoa ma, ka korero ahau ki a John Tamihere akuanei. I've played over 200 games for my province and 40-odd games for New Zealand. I've come out of retirement and I've formed the All Greys. Yeah, well, me and the boys were talking and we're all in the same boat - we never really saved up for retirement. We're gonna dust off our old boots and hopefully make some money on the side. Well, the team's looking pretty good. VOICEOVER: As a non-profit, Simplicity keeps its fees low so that you can: He tokomaha ki te mahi, ka hinga te horere. That's been the mantra for the West Auckland team, vaccinating and testing up to 3000 people each day. Now the Ministry of Health is joining forces with Te Whanau O Waipareira to reach the 6000 Maori in the west who are yet to engage in the COVID vaccination rollout. He korero au ki a John Tamihere I na akuanei. Despite the tireless work of organisations like Te Whanau O Waipareira and others, you know, the Maori vaccination rate is still lagging behind Pakeha. Can you give us a few insights into what do you think's causing it? - Yeah, we were excluded from the design process of the rollout of the vaccinations, and even our expert panel of advisers were beside themselves in that regard. So we have major problems, and it's because one third of our people are on the dole, and one third are working poor. They're just struggling to survive. And so what they do is just wait at the back of the queue for the queue to die down. That's how they think. That's how they've been taught. In six months, what we're saying to the government is ` hand over our data to us. We will identify where there are spaces available up and down country, and we will invite our people to come down to the centre closest to them. - We spoke with Carmel Sepuloni in terms of, not the vaccination, but in terms of just support for the community. And she said there are talks in motion with organisations like yourself. Are they too slow? - The Ministry of Social Development is the largest funder of programmes across and engaging with Maori, but they treat us as animals, standing outside as queues and being tamped down by security guards and all this sort of stuff. And really, it's a humanity thing. So we want devolvement and transfers of those programmes across to Maori by Maori for Maori. And, you know, the buck's gotta stop with some of these ministers shortly. We've worked our way through their bureaucrats who are reluctant, resistant and totally oppositional. - When we spoke to the Ministry of Health in terms of some of the aue and the concerns of Waipareira in terms of being able to reach their people, they said that they're doing, like, a phone roll out where they're going to contact 6000 unreachable Maori in West. Has that had any impact? - No. Look, it won't, because it's about them controlling the whole narrative and the way in which we engage with our people. So there's a way to talk to my people when you do` if their phone numbers do ring and they are on. Our people are strong on social media, but they're not turned on by messages that are crafted by some bald heads in Wellington. You know, it just doesn't work for us. And so what we want is the data passed across to us because it's in the hands of a lot of non-Maori organisations today, and we're a treaty partner, and yet we're blocked. - So what is the issue? What do you think the issue is? Why won't they simply just hand over the numbers, the 6000 numbers so that you get, you know, a group of your own people on those phones? - Well, there's this nonsense about privacy and all that. Well, we've already passed muster on that because every GP doesn't have that. Now we've got a GP system called Medtech, and we can look through the back of things. But it takes forever, you see. And so while we can get access` as of right, we can't get access to Maori mega data. And what we need is break out data to all our providers up and down the country, so they can go out and honour their people and invite them in the inimitable style that only Maori have when dealing with other Maori. - What are the numbers that you're managing to push through in terms of vaccination and testing out there? - Well, up till the last six days, we were doing` had the opportunity to do 1800 people up at the... Trust Stadium in Central Park Drive and 1200 people just over here at Whanau centre a day. That's why we're up now to 70,000 vaccinations. The problem we have, of course, is that no one gives us the opportunity to expect part of the traffic that comes through us. So we had four days full of the North Shore coming across. In the last five days, we could have vaxed another 5000 people, but the Crown turned the appointments down across the whole of Auckland. That's a vaccination rationing issue. - So this Book My Vaccine that we all have to go on to to make our appointments. You're saying that the Ministry of Health held back numbers that you could have vaccinated? - Oh, there's no doubt about that ` across all of Auckland. Otherwise, the prime minister wouldn't be announcing she's finally located some Pfizer in Denmark, some Pfizer in Spain. You know, we're not all stupid, for goodness sakes. (CHUCKLES) If we were told in the last six days that the appointments were being turned down, I could've stood down some of my hardworking staff that had been working 12-hour days. - Recently, David Seymour, the leader of the ACT Party, has been called all sorts of names, actually, this week after releasing one of the codes that were to promote Maori vaccinations out west. What's your response to him? - Some members of his party have contacted me to say that they were appalled, right, and wanted to apologise. My view is, is that he purposely set out to sabotage, for race-baiting reasons, our right to equality of access. See, this is inequality of access. I'm not a David Seymour that wakes up when I'm a mother with three babies, solo, and I'm on a benefit, and I don't have the same` I don't have the same equality of rights that Mr Seymour and his mates do. She doesn't. And so what we want is equality of rights of access to vaccines for her if she wants them. Now, Mr Seymour went out of his way to destroy and sabotage that, and particularly when we'd just buried the first Delta death ` being a Waipareira nanny. - Do you think Mr Seymour realises how COVID treats Maori differently and how important it is that Maori have a higher vaccination rate so that all New Zealanders are protected? - He knows all of that, OK? He knows all of that, but that's not the type of politics he wants to play. He wants to use us as a brown football because it appeals to his rump. It appeals to the rump in the National Party as well. No doubt about that. And he has apologists ` you know, like Janet Wilson and du Plessis-Allan and the rest of it as apologists for him banging his drum. - One of the biggest issues we're seeing now is that while Maori 65+ are doing all right actually in vaccination, the group that's really concerning is the 30 to 39. I think only 10% and then 20 and under` 29 and under, only 5% of are vaccinated. How are you going to reach` there's plenty of those out west. How are you going to reach that cohort? - Look, we've got to be knowing about what we're after. We have 28,400 Maori over 65, and we've done very good at targeting them in lockdown one ` 2020, and we knew where they were. Further down the food chain, we will never get any more than 70% of Maori, OK, vaccinated. So as long as we get as many people over 30 vaccinated as possible, and then we have to run the gamut on those 12 up to well, 12-ups` their parents should get them vaxed, but 18 up, or 16 up to 30 ` We were always going to have a problem in that cohort, because they're deeply suspicious of Crown-related engineered product distribution called vaccinations. - Well, we asked David Seymour for an interview, but he declined. Waipareira CEO John Tamihere was happy to front up. Kia tahuri ake tatou. When Level 4 restrictions closed restaurants in Tamaki Makaurau, our whanau living on the streets lost a major source of kai. That spurred hangi master Rewi Spraggon into action, firing up his pits to feed the hungry during lockdown. Rewi wanted to ease the pressure on foodbanks and kitchens, serving Aotearoa's oldest cuisine to those in need of a kai. Kia tahuri ake tatou. (SERENE MUSIC) - REWI: It's a win-win situation. It's the oldest dish in Aotearoa. Everyone should be able to have a good meal ` homeless or whatever. Whether you're royalty or living under a bridge, it doesn't matter. We put the same aroha into every meal and the way we cook the kai, and that's the way we've been taught, and that's the way I'll teach people. So, a six-hour process, so we were up at 5 this morning. On the menu ` chicken, pork, kumara, pumpkin, potato, stuffing, cabbage. So there's seven options there for the meal. (RELAXED MUSIC) The beauty of hangi is that it's a community kai,... and that's why our old people cooked it, because we could feed a lot of people with a small budget, and so that's why we do it. - You estimate that you'll probably end up serving about 5000 meals during this lockdown. How difficult was it for you to find the putea to fund it? - I was looking at 700 meals a week, but it's actually gone up to 1000 meals a week. The generosity of people has been great, um, from sourcing putea from the likes of Minister Willie Jackson. He's given some good putea for us to get out there and really push us through for about four weeks, different meals. And then we've also got Britomart, Maori-owned business, Kauta, and then my business that have given time. I'm fortunate I've got a lot of networks where I've worked with over the years that would just do anything like this at the drop of a hat. There's a lot of good people out there. There's a lot of good producers and suppliers that are giving kai. - You have had a few challenges, though ` the storm the other week. - Probably the biggest rain in 50 years storm. It washed out our road. I didn't realise how bad the storm was. I went down, and there was no way you could get out in the morning. The road was flooded in about four places ` past my window on my truck. Luckily, it had dropped quite fast, and so I managed to get out, drive through a flood that was probably about a good 800m. Sort of guessing where the road was, but you know the old story ` the hangi must get through. (LAUGHS) - Did it surprise you to see just how much need was out there? - I know the struggles and the hardship. We've just seen it increase and increase. 20 years ago, people were too shy to ask for kai, were too whakama. But now it's a different... different story. Families are really depending on foodbanks. Nga Whare Waatea, they have a foodbank there. - Our usual numbers is roughly about 40 food parcels a day. We are now... We are now distributing out 140 a day. - The foodbanks are really struggling. The food's going as fast as it's coming in. If I can help relieve a bit of that pressure... A number of the volunteers there are now volunteering, pack the kai,... delivering the kai. - This a hangi? - Yeah, this is hangi. - Oh, thank you! - They also look after a lot of our... our people that have come out of prison ` women and male ` and a lot of them wanna turn their lives around. - You have a very personal understanding, don't you, of why some people choose to live a life on the street. - I had a cousin who passed away about four years ago. He was living on the streets. A lot of me and my whanau, we offered accommodation for him. He didn't accept any offer from any of my cousins, from our whanau. Unfortunately, it took a heavy toll on him. He died of a heart attack. He was only about 45. They're a hidden part of our community that... a lot of us don't know of, but the more we can support them, you know ` it could change their lives too. So just giving them a bit of a boost in life, a step up, is a big thing. (RELAXED MUSIC CONTINUES) The cooking is a seven-hour process from setting the pits up to lighting the fire to preparing the kai. Once the fire's started, we've got three hours to prep 350 meals. Get that ready, then put it down, then there's another three hours. Within that three hours, you're getting ready for the set-up. You're then setting up for the next day. So it's ongoing, you know? You never stop. So, yeah, by the time you finish the day, it's a good 12-hour day. (SERENE MUSIC) This is the hidden part of our community, but at the end of the day, they're our whanaunga. - Much love to the whanau. - They whakapapa to the same maunga, to the same awa. You know, just going into these places and looking at the people smiling, you know, it just makes it really worthwhile. I think that's the biggest gratitude for me and my team is... is just watching people enjoy your kai. I suppose for me it's just more of a driver to actually do more, you know, when you actually see it, and just keep the mahi going. - Kua hikina Te Hui, e hoa ma. No reira, hei whakamanawa i Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori, anei te waiata ` 'Ka Hao' na Rob Ruha. Kia kaha te reo Maori. Noho ora mai ra. (35 FT. ROB RUHA - 'KA HAO') - # Tapa reireia tapa # Konunua tapa # Tapa konunua koe ana tukua # Tapa reia tapa # Konunua tapa - # ALL: Konunua koe ana tukua # Ka hao i runga # Ka hao i raro # Ka hao i te manawa # Taku taanga manawa - # First place to see the sun # Te Tairawhiti is always on # Best be ready for the time of your life # Cruising down to Highway 35 - # Whakarongo ake # Harapa ana te Ngati # Ki te riu o Waiapu # Tu ake, tu ake, Te Whakatohea - # He Wiwi Naati # no Porourangi - # E ko te Kuti, te Wera, # te Haua ko Apanui - # Tapa reireia tapa # Konunua tapa # Tapa konunua koe ana tukua # Tapa reia tapa # Konunua tapa - # ALL: Konunua koe ana tukua # Ka hao i runga # Ka hao i raro # Ka hao i te manawa # Taku taanga manawa - # Ruatorea... # pies are the one and only # Tutaki ki te Haati Naati # Mmm, te reka - # Te reka... - # Whakatata, tata rawa, # Whakatata tata rawa # Tata ki Waiparapara - SOLOISTS/GROUP: # Waiparapara... # State Highway 35 # Tokomaru for a paua pie # Straight down to Whangara, tama ko Paikea # Wai weherua, Turanga (SAXOPHONE SOLO) - # Tapa reireia tapa # Konunua tapa # Tapa konunua koe ana tukua # Tapa reia tapa # Konunua tapa - # ALL: Konunua koe ana tukua # Ka hao i runga # Ka hao i raro # Ka hao i te manawa # Taku taanga manawa # Ka hao i runga # Ka hao i raro # Ka hao i te manawa # Taku taanga manawa A CAPELLA: # Ka hao i runga # Ka hao i raro # Ka hao i te manawa # Taku taanga manawa # Ka hao i runga # Ka hao i raro # Ka hao i te manawa # Taku taanga manawa. # Captions by Able. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2021 - ALL: He mea tautoko na Te Mangai Paho. - The Hui is made with support from NZ On Air.