Matriarch and Te Kohanga Reo Ngati Hamua kaiako "Nanny" Marcia Matiaha has more experience than most when dealing with the young after successfully raising a Masterton family of 10 children. Mrs Matiaha was born and raised by her grandparents in Waikaremoana, attending Kokako Maori School until she left in 1958, aged14. Her first job after leaving school was working in a motel kitchen before she went on to work for two years with Lever Brothers in Wellington. In the capital she met and married Erua Tearoha Matiaha before shifting a year later to Masterton, where the couple raised a family of 10 children who all attended East School, Hiona Intermediate and Makoura College as they grew. Mrs Matiaha devoted herself to her children through these years, she said, and is proud they now work in various positions throughout the Wairarapa community, ranging from teaching to mental health work. Her association with Te Kohanga Reo Ngati Hamua began in 1983 when along with Paremo Matthews they were made kaioko teachers beside a management team that included Mike Hollings, Pita Campbell and Missy Haira, she said. She continues her close involvement as kaiako at the Cole Street language nest as support to other kaiako, kaiawhina, and tamariki when needed, she said. Mrs Matiaha has watched over the decades as the kohanga which celebrates its 25th anniversary on June 3 has "grown from strength with te reo", and has promoted use of Maori among the wider families and not just the children who attend the kohanga. She said a proverb, or whakatauki, from which she draws daily inspiration is "Ehara taku toa I te toa takitahi, he toa takitini e", which translates as "My strength is not shared for one, but shared for all".
