“Ahakoa iti, ākona, kōrerotia. Learn a little, use a little.”

Last week we celebrated Maori Language Week. One thing that I have taken away from last week's celebration is the phrase that Whaea Kata shared with the staff -

“Ahakoa iti, ākona, kōrerotia. Learn a little, use a little.”

My interpretation of this is that the quality of what you are doing or saying is important. Sometimes we can stress that we have not done enough or what we have done is not enough. What “Ahakoa iti, ākona, kōrerotia" highlights is that we are constantly learning, learning at our own pace, learning and sharing what we have.

On Thursday September 20, I took ten Year 9 students and one Year 12 students to play table tennis with the Chinese elderly community at Grace International Hall in Glen Innes. This is a community initiative that is run by Constable Len. The students were given a crash course in Chinese greetings from Constable Len - "Ni Hao Ma" (hello/how are you?) & "Wo Jiao (I am). The students were worried about the language barrier and were concerned that they did not know enough. However once they met the folk, this 'little' greeting was more than enough. It helped to break the ice, connecting our young with the old.

“Ahakoa iti, ākona, kōrerotia. Learn a little, use a little” goes a long way.