Jack and his son Alex after completing the 34-week immersion course
A very personal sabbatical Dr Jack Hill | Auckland Anaesthetist
Ko taku reo, taku ohooho, ko taku reo, taku mapihi mauria. My language is my awakening, my language is the window to my soul
Tuatahi, te-nei to-ku mihi maioha ki te wha-nau o Toi Mata Hauora. Te-na- koutou e a-ku rangatira. Tuarua, he mihi nunui ki Te Wa-nanga Takiura o Nga- Kura Kaupapa Ma-ori o Aotearoa. He ta-ngata manaaki, he a-whina, he tu-manako hoki a ra-tou. Mauri ora e te wha-nau wha-nui o Takiura. Tuatoru, ka tukuna e ahau i te-nei mihi ki a Papa Tawhiri Williams (Kaitiaki Huhua) ra-ua ko Nanny Kaa Williams (Pouako Matua). Ko nga- poutokomanawa o te reo. He manukura o te ao Ma-ori.
20 THE SPECIALIST | MARCH 2022
Ko Jack Hill ahau. He uri o Nga-ti Wha-tua, ko Nga-ti Kahungunu, ko Nga- Puhi, ko Ngati Tu-wharetoa ra-tou ko Nga-ti Raukawa. In 2021, I enrolled in a 34-week total immersion course in te reo Ma-ori at Te Wa-nanga Takiura o Nga- Kura Kaupapa Ma-ori o Aotearoa. Takiura was established in 2000 for the purpose of teaching te reo Ma-ori to teachers, but over the years it has broadened its student base, offering a rumaki reo course.
Is learning te reo Ma-ori a legitimate CPD activity? A fair enough question, considering my CPD allowance helped finance my tuition. As an anaesthetist working in a tertiary obstetric hospital, like many, I have observed health care inequities and inequalities experienced by Ma-ori. There are multiple determinants for these inequities and inequalities – unconscious bias, microaggression, internalised racism, institutional racism, and negative
