Published in: Kokiri Issue 10 - Hereturikōka - Mahuru 2008
Ko ngā ratonga reo Māori me ngā toi Māori te pakihi o tētahi tokorua ki Rotorua.
Nō Karl Leonard rāua ko Ruihapounamu Rüwhiu te pakihi a Rākai Ltd.
“Ko te taha ki a Karl ko ngā mahi toi, ko te mahi ki a au ko te whakamāori me te tohutohu i ngā kaupapa,” tā Ruihapounamu.
“Ko te wero nui ki te kōkiri tonu i te pakihi me te whānau i te wā kotahi,” hei tāna anō.
Tokowhā ā rāua tamariki kei raro katoa i te ono tau te pakeke.
I te mutunga o te tau rua mano mā ono ka hoki atu te whānau nei ki Rotorua mai i Te Wānanga o Raukawa ki ōtaki.
Kua whakamanahia e Karl te tohu Toi Iho mō ngā pukenga toi Māori, he kaiwhakaako Māori a Ruihapounamu nā reira ka hua mai ko tō rāua pakihi a Rākai Ltd.
I toro atu rāua ki Te Ratonga Kaipakihi a Te Puni Kōkiri ki te awhi me te whakatinana i ō rāua moemoeā mō tētahi pakihi.
“Mehemea ko māua anake ka raru, he nui te āwhina, he nui ngā tohutohu a Te Puni Kōkiri mō te momo pakihi,” tā Raihapounamu.
Kei te titiro whakamua rāua kia kimi huarahi ai mō ngā whakamātakitaki toi Māori a Karl ki ngā whare taonga me te pānui i ngā mahi whakamāori a Ruihapounamu.
“Ki te kore a waho e mōhio ki te taha ki te whakamāori, he iti ngā whakamāori ka tonoa mai,” tā Ruihapounamu.
Mō etahi atu whakamāramatanga whakapā atu ki a Rākai Ltd mā te ïmera ruiha@rakai.co.nz mā te waea rānei 07 357 4396.