Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
See below for English translation
Nōnā e mahi ana i Ōpōtiki mā New World e whakapau kaha tonu ana tēnei wahine atamai ki te whakapakari ake āna pūkenga.
Nā tōna kaha me tana ūpoko mārō, kua whakawhiwhia a Serene Ratu ki tana tohu whakakaupapa matū i te whare wānanga o Waitaha. E rua tekau mā rua te rahi o Serene. Nō Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Maniapoto me Ngai Tahu. Ki ōna hoa tata ko Peepers tōna ingoa poipoi. Kai te takapou o tōna tinana tōna ingoa poipoi nei e ngangahu kau ana.
“Ka pātaingia ōku matua ki te tikanga o taku ingoa, ko te whakahoki ki ahau, nōku e itiiti ai he rite aku kanohi ki te marama hua e tere na i te rangi, wheoi anō he whakapono kē nōku ko te tino take he wehi kē taku pukana.”
He ahakoa kai te kukume roatia e ia te kōrero, koia te tino o ngā mokopuna i ōna kaumātua katoa, he whakamihi nāna ki te huatahi i akiaki i a ia ki a puta ki whenua kē atu pakeketia ai.
“Nā wai rā, ka whakapuakina e ahau taku whakaaro ki te haere ki Ōtautahi ako ai ki a Koro Jay, ka kūwhewhewhewhe ōna pāpāringa. Hai tāna, ko ia hoki tetehi i whaka-te-pera atu ki te pūrei whutupōro ka mahue tana hoa, ara, taku kuia. Nō reira tāna ki ahau, ki a takitahi kē te haere’.
Kai konei ia e pukukata ana.
Ko taku tau tuatahi he tau uaua. Ka kuhu atu ki te hōro anō nei e kuhu atu ana he ao hou. Kia mahara tatau i tupu mai ia i Ōpōtiki.
Nō reira a Ōtautahi nei, he tāone nui, ka nui hoki te manioro, he pukumahi, me te tini o ngā pīoi. Ka iti ki mua, ka nui ki muri ka pae a Serene ki tona kāinga hou, ka toro atu e ia ki Te Akatoki, he kāhui Māori, he kāhui tauira katoa.Ko te tikanga o tēnei kāhui he kauawhiawhi, he whakatau hoki ngā waewae tapu.
Nō te tau tuarua , ka piki ake a Serene ki te nōhanga pou tikanga-ā-iwi ki kōnei ia whakarite hui nui ai. Ko te Mākete o Matariki tetehi o āna hui nui whakahirahira, i tae mai te tini me te rahi o te tangata.
Ko tetehi anō o āna tutukinga ki te taha o te mātauranga ko tana nōhanga i Lincoln Agritech. Nō tana tau tuarua tēnei tūnga nui. Ko te tikanga o tēnei noho,he tōtō mai i te hinu rangatira i te kiriāmoto Tawa. He rākau e noho tuturu kau ki a Ngai Tūhoe. Ka haere a Serene ki Te Waimana ki te kohi kiriāmoto Tawa e noho tuturu katoa ai ngā ritenga kohikohi. Kātahi nā, ka tūwhera tana kaupapa hai kaupapa weruweru hoki i te kiriāmoto Tawa.
I ēnei rangi kai te ao hurihuri ia e mahi ana. Kai ngā taiwhanga pūtaiao i Kirikiriroa a Serene e mahi ana hai pou taiwhanga pūtaiao. Ko tana mahi he tātari,he tirotiro ki te wai ki te kimi mētara. Tu atu i āna mahi pūtaiao ko te uho o tona ao ko te mātauranga Māori me te whakamana i tō tātau mātauranga motuhake.
He hiahia nui nōku ki te whakaara taiwhanga pūtaiao ki Te Waimana me te mataki kau i oku tuakana e whakaora ana i ngā hōiho ki te rongoā Māori nā mātau anō i waihanga. Kua tutukingia e ahau etehi o aku moemoeā, wheoi anō ko te rite kē ki ngā whetu e takaporepore ana i Te Ikaroa- he mutunga kore’. Hai tāna.
Ko tana whāinga matua kia tu koia te wahine Māori tuatahi ka whakawhiwhia ki te taonga whakahirahira a Nobel mō te kaupapa mātai matū. He maunga nui tēnei e tāea ana e ia hai ōna hoa tata. He ahakoa tēnei kaupapa kai te whenua hoki ōna waewae e haere tu ana.
“He ahakoa he wahine whai tohu ahau, ka whakahaua tonutia ahau e whae Kohine ki te horoi rīhi ki te marae’.
From her early days working at New World Ōpōtiki to obtaining her chemical formulation design degree from the University of Canterbury (UC), Serene Ratu has dreams of changing the world.
The 22-year-old of Ngāi Tuhoe, Ngāti Maniapoto, Te Whakatohea, Ngāi Tahu descent, is known affectionately as Peepers to her friends and whānau – and she wears her nickname as a badge of honour.
“I was told it was because I had big eyes when I was a baby but I’m pretty sure it’s because my pūkana was mean,” Serene says.
While she jokes that she is the favourite mokopuna amongst her kaumātua, one of her koro encouraged her decision to move hundreds of kilometres away to embark on a solo adventure.
“When I first told my Koro Jay I was moving all the way to Otautahi to study, he told me that he also moved there back in the rā to play rugby and left my nan behind.
“So, he told me to go by myself,” she says with a laugh.
In her first year, living in the halls felt like entering a new world, marking a significant shift from her small-town family life to a busy city with unfamiliar faces.
However, she discovered a home away from home after joining the Te Akatoki Māori Students’ Association.
In her second year, Serene took on the role of social representative, where she was instrumental in organising large events.
The Matariki Market was a notable success, drawing thousands of students and numerous acts.
Another significant milestone in her academic pursuits was her internship with Lincoln Agritech in her second year.
The venture between Tūhoe and Lincoln Agritech aimed to extract high-quality pigment colour from the tawa tree bark, native to Te Urewera. Serene travelled to Ruataahuna to collect the bark, ensuring the extraction was in line with traditional methods. Her collaboration further expanded into a project where she crafted natural fibres from the same bark.
Today, she is making waves in the professional world, working for Hill Laboratories in Hamilton as a lab technician, where she tests water for trace elements.
Outside her professional aspirations, Serene is passionate about mātauranga Māori revitalisation and recognition.
“I’d like to build a lab in Waimana and watch my brothers heal their hoiho with natural medicine we’ve created. I’ve fulfilled some of my dreams, but I’ve still got millions to go,” she says.
The high achiever has her sights on being the first Māori wahine to clinch a Nobel Prize in chemistry, which will not come as a surprise to those who know her. However, she is candid about life lessons too.
“Even though you’ve got your degree, your Aunty Kohine’s still going to yell at you to get to the marae and do those dishes,” she laughs.
His accuser said the abuse occurred in Avondale and Whangārei.