Kāhu ki Rotorua: Passport to a better life

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air

See below for English translation

Ko te huarahi nāhi te mahi tino pai kia Aquatania

E tika ana te pepehā a ngā tuatahi e kīia ana i painga ia e te mātauranga nā reira i hari ai a Aquatania ki tana umanga nui hai manuao, hai nāhi.

Kai te ao, kai te pō hoki ia e whati kō ana kia mau i a ia tēnei mātāpono. Ka oti i āna karaehe kura i Toi Ohomai ka tāhuri noa a Aquatania ki āna mahi pō, he pōta whaihoki he taupaepae mā tētehi o ngā hōtera o te waiariki nei.

"Kai te rae o te mahunga āku wānanga nāhi he ahakoa kai te mahi ahau e pekepeke haere ana ka tae ki ahau tētehi wā iti ki te ako nāhi i runga i te mōhiotanga ka tāti anō aku karaehe ā te waru o ngā hāora ā te atatū. He rā nui, he rangi whakaaro tae ki te tū-ā-ahiahi.

"Kai roto i ahau te hiahia ki te whakaohoooho i te wairua o tātou te Māori, ki te whakapiki i te tokomaha o ngā nāhi Māori ki tēnei umanga hai umanga tūturu. He ahakoa ngāftai nui, ngā tai pakupaku mā te ūpoko pakaru rānō e tangata ai te tangata.

Ko te mea nui ki a tū anō te tangata.

"Āe, ko taku tau tuatahi noa tēnei engari mā te aha i tēnā, e hoki ana ngā māharatanga ki ngā tau kua hori, kātahi nā te ara pāhekeheke ōku, engari nā te manaakitanga o aku hoa me ngā pouako e kite ai ahau i te āturangi".

E whīwhīwhī ana tana tinana i ngā piritā o te nehenehe engari ka puta tonu ia i āna whakamātautau hai toa.

I whakatakea mai te taumahatanga i whea ? I whakatakea i tana whānau hurahura.
Ko tōna oranga kai te pā taunaha ki tōna rahi ki a Tūhourangi- Ngāti Wāhiao, ki roto o Ngāti Whakaue me tōna taha ki a Ngāi Tūhoe. I whānau ai a Aquatania i Ahitereiria engari i pakekengia i Te Whakarewarewa. E rua, e rua, ko ngā wā pōuri whaihoki ko ngā wā o te hari nōna e itiiti ai nā reira te wairua toa o tēnei wahine.

"Nōku e kura tuarua ana ka kawea ōku taina e Oranga Tamariki. E whatiwhati ana ngā pātū o tō mātou whare, e toimaha ana tōku matua tāne, ā, e pērā hoki rā tōku matua wahine whakaangi.

Te kuia o Aquatania, ko Bernadette "Bunny" Te Moana-Hill.

"Nā tēnei tūāhuatanga i mōhio ai ōku taina ki tēnei mea te rawa kore, ki te waipiro, ki te tūkino wahine, ki te tūkino hinengaro me te whakaparanga wairua".

"He kotahi tekau mā ono anake ōku tau. E ngoikore ana, e kūware ana, ka hinga noa au ki te rētōtanga o te pōuriuri. 'Kai te mamae tonu ahau – kai te raruraru hoki tonu taku whānau, he whānau māuiui, he whānau whakaroiroi. Kātahi nā ka puta mai taku wairua toa me pēhwea hoki nā e tāea e ahau ki te awhina i ōku taina ki a te puta i te poho o Oranga Tamariki e harikoa ai tō rātou wairua.

Ko ōku ake mātua te whakatauiratanga o te ngākau whawhati o te ao tautauhea, nā reira ka nui te whakamihi ki a rātou i kore ai ahau e tahuri atu nā ki tēnā huarahi o te koretaketanga". Engari ko te ao nāhi nei ehara kau i tana whiringa tuatahi hai mahi māna. I tū te ihu o tōna waka rapu mātauranga i te tau, e rua mano kotahi tekau mā waru, ko tana hiahia tuatahi hai mātanga pūtaiao-ā-ture.

Me te whakamihi hoki nāna ki a Kui Whariki Gardiner nānā hoki i maringi noa tōna muri aroha me te māramatanga ki runga ki a ia, kia kāua ia e whakatikoki i tōna waka haere. "Haere noa ahau ki ngā whare wānanga e rua, kāore tonu ana aku tohu.

Wheoi anō ko āna kupu kōrero ki ahau, he poipoi, he manaaki, he whakakaha wairua, nānā te kī mai ki ahau, he tuawahine ahau, engari hoki me ū tonu ahau ki te huarahi o te mātauranga , kia tirohia pea e ahau ki te huarahi nāhi. Engari ki taku ngākau ake te whakaaro ki a noho tuarua kē mai te mahi nāhi hai paparahi māku".

"Hōtō kai te wānanga tuatahi ahau ināianei. Kātahi nei ahau ka eke ki te wāhanga tuarua o te tau ako". E whakapono nei a Aquatania kia whakawhiwhia e ia ki tēnei tohu kia tū ia hai nāhi.

"E whia kē ngā kawekawe o te mahi nāhi, he hakoke noa i te motu me te ao e pūare ana te katoa o taku ngākau me ōku kanohi ki tēnei mana hou, ā, me te mōhiohio hoki ko te tīkiti tēnei e whātoro atu ai ahau ki tētehi ao whakamiharo'.

Ko te whakahikonga o tōna wairua kia kāua ia e mate ururoa ko te turakina ōna i tētehi wā pōuriuri. ake te koroingo toa'. Ko te pae tawhiti māna, he whakaaraara whare hauora ki te puku o te pā taunaha o Te Whakarewarewa.

He whakakaha hoki i te rangatahi ki a takahia ai te huarahi nāhi. — Na Raimona Inia i whakamaoritiatenei purongo

Education is Aquatania Hill's passport to a better life and a fulfilling career as a nurse.

And she is working day and night to ensure it happens.

After a full day's study at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology, Aquatania works as a night porter and receptionist at a hotel to help pay for her studies.

"My nursing studies are always at the forefront of my to-do list in everything I do. I even study hard whilst on a night shift at work, knowing that I have 8am lectures, laboratories and practical classes till 4pm all day.

"I hope to inspire more Māori nurses to begin their journey and career in health. No matter what you go through, you can come out on top.

"Yes I'm in my first year, but it is a huge start and a better step to where I was before I started. I went through a lot of struggle and barriers but I got support from my class peers, tutors and lecturers."

Despite her struggles Aquatania still passed her exams. Her problems came from her dysfunctional family.

She takes inspiration from her hapu and iwi, Tuhourangi, Ngati Wahiao, Ngati Whakaue, Ngai Tuhoe. Aquatania was born in Australia and raised at Whakarewarewa.

The negative and bad experiences in her upbringing gave her the strength to face whatever fate may throw at her.

Aquatania Hill helping her kuia Bernadette "Bunny" Te Moana-Hill settle into her new home. Photo / Aquatania Hill

"During high school my five siblings were placed into Oranga Tamariki care because my father and step mother couldn't provide a safe, stable, loving home environment. Instead my siblings lived a life of poverty, violence, domestic violence, neglect, physical,mental and emotional abuse."

Being 16, helpless and clueless impacted her deeply.

"It still impacts me to this day, with very unsupportive, unstable, drug addict parents and step parents.

"I was left with no choice but to try to survive, help my siblings in Oranga Tamariki care in some way and no choice but to go to university to make a life and something of myself.
"I'm grateful that Oranga Tamariki took my siblings when they did, to give them a better life.

"My parents were amazing examples of what I didn't want to be like, or what I didn't want my future to be like, and most importantly what I don't want my future kids to be raised around."

Nursing was not Aquatania's first career choice. She began her career journey in 2018, at first wanting to be a forensic scientist.

She thanks Nanny Whariki Gardiner who has supported her throughout her journey but always encouraged her to become a nurse. "I went to two universities and still no degree.

"She kept drumming into my head that I would make an amazing nurse. She wanted me to study,apply and enrol into a nursing degree. I told myself without telling her that I would keep Nursing as my backup career to pursue and study.

"Now I'm in my first year of nursing, studying in my second semester." Aquatania is determined to complete her degree and then do post-graduate studies so she can become a nurse practitioner.

"Nursing has amazing and endless opportunities, possibilities and specializations, being able to travel around the world and get a job as a nurse in nearly every country and city was a dream come true in my eyes. My absolute ticket to the world." What inspired and encouraged Aquatania to not give up was another negative experience.

During my second semester of nursing studies my grandmother fell very mauiui/sick which impacted me immensely.

"I was taking full-time care of her in her home inside of the Whaka Village, with no immediate access of toileting and bathing facility's, my kuia had no option of being able to afford to live anywhere else around town, she lived in a condemned, moulded/mildew, unstable, unlivable house to survive/ live as she couldn't afford anywhere else.

"As my immediate family aren't very supportive, I had no other option but to place my nan into a full-time nursing aged care facility.

"After my kuia fell too sick to look after herself/ had no other immediate help and or supporting care/ attention from anybody else, placing my kuia into an aged care home to get nursing care help 24/7 was my best and only option at helping my Nan to the best of my ability.

"I am proud of myself for doing this for my Nan, she has only been living in aged care for a few days now but loves where she is."