Māori health agency, Toi Tangata, is hosting its first in-person kura reo designed to support reo Māori proficiency of kaimahi hauora Māori (Māori health workers) next week in Rotorua.
The three-day full immersion wānanga, Toi te Reo | Toi Tangata Kura Reo 2023, is designed to “empower” Māori health professionals across the sector, says the kura reo’s lead coordinator Renei Ngawati.
“Toi te Reo is about empowering kaimahi hauora Māori to communicate confidently in te reo Māori, giving them practical tools and support to upskill their language,” she says.
The Toi Tangata kaimahi says that as a national Māori health agency, they are aware that the demand for mātauranga and kaupapa Māori-based delivery currently outweighs the confidence and capability of some kaimahi Māori.
“It is about providing space in the sector to support reo proficiency and for reo speakers to be further acknowledged,” says Ngawati.
“Toi te Reo is an opportunity for kaimahi to be in a Māori environment to bring forth the reo within them, which will not only have positive outcomes for them personally, but also their mahi and the whānau they connect with.”
Having hosted a virtual kura reo during 2021′s lockdown, this event marks the first in-person Toi Tangata kura reo tailored specifically to professionals working within the wider health sector, including clinical, allied and community-based roles.
Dedicated to health approaches informed by mātauranga Māori, Toi Tangata champions kaupapa Māori-based approaches to kori (physical activity) and kai.
“Te reo Māori me ōna tikanga are vehicles of well-being for Māori - a healthy language leads to a healthy people,” says Toi Tangata.
“Toi te Reo is a tangible outcome of the commitment Toi Tangata has to investing in kaimahi hauora.”
Toi te Reo runs from Wednesday through Friday at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology’s Mokoia Campus.
