January 30, 2017
Literacy priority for urban Maori fund
One of the new directors of Te Putea Whakatupu Trust says promoting numeracy and literacy among young Maori will be his priority.
Te Putea Whakatupu was set up under the Maori Fisheries Act to promote education, training and research in fisheries, fishing and fisheries-related activities for Maori.
It was subject to a legal challenge by urban Maori authorities who felt it was ignoring its obligations to have regard for the interests of Maori who do not associate with their iwi or do not receive benefits from a mandated iwi organization.
As a result new trustees were appointed with the experience required to represent the interests of urban Maori – Willie Jackson, Norm Dewes and Willie Te Aho.
Mr Te Aho, a lawyer who works closely with the Iwi Chairs Forum but has also worked with urban Maori organisations, says it’s good having three Ngati Porou on the board.
He says they’re all committed to making a better world for Maori through the trust – and for him, that means starting with the basics.
"Despite all the achievements through the education system, we have a number of our people who still continue to fall out and fail because of that basic learning. And so if we put that whole resource into a hundred percent numeracy and literacy for our Maori children then I would certainly be a happy man for the time I spend on this board," says Willie Te Aho.
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