By CHERIE TAYLOR in Rotorua
Ten outstanding Te Arawa teenagers will be the first to benefit from the inaugural Sir Howard Morrison Education Foundation scholarships.
The scholarships not only pay for tertiary institution fees but offer tangible support with paid holiday work placements and individual mentoring support. This
is lead by Sir Howard through Rotorua's Manaakitanga Aotearoa Trust.
All recipients are required to attend a five-day marae stay with tribal leaders at the end of the year.
The trust has been gifted $1 million for the 20-year programme by an anonymous donor with $50,000 set aside annually for the scholarships. Students are nominated by their schools or kaumatua and must have met university entry requirements.
There were a lot of young future leaders within Te Arawa and the scholarships were one way of investing in their futures for the benefit of all Maori, said Sir Howard.
"Offering these future leaders positive support, we know they will be less likely to drop out of their studies. We follow their progress and will get regular updates from their universities," said Sir Howard.
"In another 10 years or so, these young people are going to be at the forefront, running operations with Te Arawa assets.
"They are our future Maori leaders and Maori will be at the forefront of economic growth for Aotearoa."
He is challenging other Maori educational trust organisations to offer education schemes to help young Maori in the same way.
"A lot of these kids receive a one-off payment by trusts and many of them fall by the wayside without that support.
"It's not easy for them and a lot of them rely on grants to get through their education. Imagine if all the hapu raised $250,000 and put their own people through university," he said.
The 2005 recipients to receive their scholarships at the Rotorua District Council this afternoon are: Tataingaoteranagi Dewes (Engineering); Casey Van Vilet (Medicine); Wiremu Ruru (Teaching); Piripi Douglas (Teaching); Patumahoe Lowman (Fashion and Design); Ranginui Flavell (Medicine); Rawiri Heke (Law and Management); Emaa Pene (Health Sciences); Sherry Tait (Media Studies) and Tumamao Hill (Teaching)
