Iwi leader believes education the key to a better future

Iwi leader believes education the key to a better future

Top of the south iwi Ngati Apa ki te Ra To, in partnership with Computers In Homes (CIH), has further extended its Learning and Development strategy with a pilot programme that will impact the lives and homes of 10 iwi members and families across Marlborough.

Ngati Apa ki te Ra To CEO, Butch Bradley says “This pilot programme is another part of our education strategy, Te Whare Mātauranga a Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō and will focus on empowering our iwi members with tools and skills to become active in the online world and will also provide children from these families with access to online educational resources from home.”

From early June, ten Ngati Apa ki te Ra To member families will receive 20 hours of free training (2 hours per week over 10 weeks), a recycled computer, 12 months of subsidized Internet connectivity and technical support.

The programme will;

• Teach iwi members how to use a computer, and the internet, safely.

• Provide a computer, set-up at home, for homework and family use.

• Give discounted internet access.

• Help students do better at school with reading, writing and arithmetic.

• Help parents get more involved in their children’s learning.

• Provide ongoing support with computer skills development.

“This is a chance for families to learn together, students can build on school learning in relevant and meaningful ways, while other whanau members can explore and learn about computers and the internet,” Butch Bradley says.

The iwi has already established a successful Wānanga programme for cultural revitalization and will continue to offer iwi members access to a range of learning opportunities that make a real difference to their lives, including Literacy & Numeracy and Financial Literacy programmes planned for later this year. NGĀTI APA KI TE RĀ TŌ TRUST P.O. Box 708, Blenheim 7201, New Zealand P: 03 5789695 F: 03 5776321 www.ngatiapakiterato.iwi.nz

“There is a Whakataukī (proverb) that underpins what our Te Whare Mātauranga a Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō strategy aims to achieve”, Bradley says.

Ko te manu e kai ana i te miro, nōna te ngahere.

Ko te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga, nōna te ao.

The bird that dines on berries, has the forest.

The bird that dines on knowledge, has the world.

ENDS

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