Year in and year out this phenomenon of embracing the Māori language arrives, and no doubt it’s more important than ever to give a little love to that treasure this year.
Ko te aroha — me te āwhina — he mea hira noki ki ngā tapuhi i roto i ā rātou mahi.
Care — and support — are important things as well to nurses in their mahi.
Nō reira, e mihi mārika ana mātou i Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand ki ngā mema tapuhi me ngā kaiāwhina me ngā tapuhi whakawhānau i tēnei umanga e taituarā ana i te reo, rangi atu, rangi mai, ahakoa te kaupapa o te wiki.
So, we here at Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand say a big thank you to the members, the nurses, health-care assistants and midwives that give stalwart support to the Māori language, day in, day out, no matter what the week’s kaupapa is.
Ka mutu, hāunga anō tēnei tautoko, e ngākau whakapuke ana noki ngā nēhi — me ngā mema katoa — ki te whai i ngā āhuatanga katoa e pai ake ai te hauora o ngā tūroro.
Furthermore, obviously beside this support, these nurses – all of the members — are dedicated to doing whatever it takes to boost the health of our patients.
Koinei te wiki tika pea ki te arotahi ki ngā aho e here mai nei te mahi whakarauora i te reo ki te mahi a te tapuhi kia whakarauora, kia whakamātūtū i ngā tāngata e uru mai ana i ngā tatau o tēnā hōhipera, o tēnā whare haumanu, o tēnā taiwhanga hāpara.
This is the week, maybe, to really focus on the threads that bind together the work of keeping the language healthy, and the work of nurses reviving and healing the people who walk through the doors of our hospitals, clinics and operating theatres.
Ina titiro koe ki ngā raraunga hauora Māori ka kitea ngā tatauranga tino whakaohorere. Kāhore aua raraunga i te noho pai ki te ngākau o te tangata nānā i whai i te hauora o ō tātou hapori.
If you take a look at the data for Māori health you’ll see some shocking stats. That data surely does not sit well in the heart of a person seeking the good health of our communities.
Ka mate wawe te tangata Māori i te toharite e whitu tau ki mua i te taupori katoa. I te 2022 kia 1.7 ake te pāpātanga matenga mate pukupuku o ngāi Māori i te taupori katoa. He rite tonu te pāpātanga ake o tēnā mate, o tēnā mate ki te tangata Māori noki, ahakoa te mate.
Māori people die seven years earlier on average than the overall population. In 2022 the Māori cancer mortality rate was 1.7 times higher than the overall population. Those higher rates occur over and over again regardless of the diseases.
Me pēhea te whakatika i tēnei ōrite-kore o te hauora? Hei āwhea noki?
How do we fix this health inequality? And when, as well?
Kāhore aua raraunga i te noho pai ki te ngākau o te tangata.
Hei tēnei wiki tonu, pea. Mā te aro anō ki tō tātou reo taketake, pea, i tēnei wā hira ki tōna ahurea.
This week, maybe. And by focusing again on our indigenous language, in this important time for its culture.
Mā tēnei aronga ngangahau e taea e tātou i te punaha hauora ngā whaihua e hiahiatia ana kia tutuki ai ngā whāinga tino hira: ko te hauora o ngā tūroro me ō rātou whānau me ngā hapori katoa e noho nei i Niu Tīreni.
Through this clear-eyed focus, those of us in the health system can find the results needed to achieve those lofty goals we all seek: The health of our patients, of their families and all the communities that live in New Zealand.
Ākona te reo, kōrerotia te reo, arohaina te reo!
Learn the language, speak the language, love the language!