A small school from Te Whānau a-Apanui has completed an eight day journey of the Upper North Island. The aim of the trip for Te Kura Mana Māori o Maraenui was to upskill their students by retracing the footsteps of their ancestors.
Today the students from Te Kura Mana Māori o Maraenui visited the Auckland War Memorial Museum to see an old treasure carved by their ancestor.
“Our kids get to hear from the people who belong to those places. That's what you don't get in the books,” says Ani Mohi, the school principal.
This intrepid journey kicked off eight days ago in Maketū. To mark the ocassionthe students sang a traditional chant about their forebears who travelled the areas they have visited.
“Going to visit the tree Tanemahuta in Waipaoa forest and crossing the harbour on a barge,” says school student, Arihia Gage.
The initiative will continue next year through funding from the Maraenui fishing competition which raises $12,000.