E maringi tonu ana ngā roimata, engari ko te katakata te mārama i te pō.
I rere anō ngā kupu whakamiha, ngā kōrero hoki a te whānau, e whakamaumahara ana te kuia nei a Iritana Tāwhiwhirangi i tēnei te rangi tuaono o tōna uhunga.
I tōtika atu ngā kōrero mō te wahine, e kīa nei ko te poutokomanawa o te whare, o te Kōhanga Reo, ā, ko ngā mahara ka noho hai hoa pūmau ki ngā waihotanga iho.
Hai tā tētahi o āna mokopuna, tā Marek Pipi, he kuia arohanui ki āna mokopuna.
“Nan loved me unconditionally and this I know. Whānau never underestimate the power of loving children for who they are, without any small print for them to read.”
I whiti mai te rā ki runga o Rāhui marae, i Tikitiki i te rangi whakamutunga e noho ana a kuia ki te taha o tōna whānau.
Ko karakia, ko whakamoemiti tērā e hāpai ake i tā te uri o Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāpuhi rere atu ki te rangi.
Hai tā Pipi anō, ko te ao mātauranga tonu tētahi ara e āki nui ana a ia kia whāia e āna mokopuna.
“I just hope that I inherited my Grandmother’s brains and sharp wit. One thing that gives me hope that maybe I did, was for the last five years, every time I saw her she told me that she wanted me to go back to university and do my masters. She was also really clever in prephasing this request with the words, ‘you are my most clever grandchild.’”
I te wā o te ora ko te oranga o te tamaiti tētahi mahi e amohia nei e Iritana.
Ko ia hoki tētahi i werohia te kāwanatanga me te wāhanga 7AA o Oranga Tamariki, ā hai tā Iritana, mā te whānau anō te whānau e āwhina, e hāpai.
Nō reira rā e Iri, kua oti i a koe ngā mahi whawhai mō te reo, waiho mai ki a mātou ngā mahuetanga ki muri, kia whakatutuki ai te wawata nui. Haere, haere, okioki rā.
