Kiwibank local hero Richard Daymond: ‘It’s about the community’

Kiwibank local hero medallist Richard Daymond, with the medal and a taonga he received when he got his Masters degree. Photo / Leanne Warr

Richard Daymond admits to being humbled and surprised when he discovered he had received a Kiwibank Local Hero medal.

The Tararua College teacher says the package was delivered to him through the school mail and he’d initially thought it was stationery.

“I opened it up and saw it was a black box. I thought, no, that’s not stationery.”

He had an inkling of who had nominated him, so when he found out who had done it, he went to the teacher’s classroom, where the teacher had a class of Year 9 students, and opened the box in front of him.

But for Richard, the medal is not really about him.

“It’s about the community.”

It’s also about those who have gone before him, the kaumātua who guided him when he was a young teenager, about to start his journey in te reo.

He credits the local kaumatua for guiding him on his journey.

After he left school, he decided to study teaching at university in Palmerston North.

“That’s where I started to find my feet in the Māori world and teaching te reo Māori, kaupapa Māori.”

He spent 10 years in Auckland working in schools and became involved in ngā rakau and waka.

“Those things helped build my kete,” he says.

Then he felt it was time to come home and he began teaching Māori Studies at Tararua College.

But it wasn’t just for his teaching that he was nominated for the medal, according to the information supplied by Kiwibank.

“A much-loved teacher at Tararua College, Richard Daymond goes above and beyond to empower his students, with an approach deeply rooted in Te Ao Māori. With an impressive skill set – from being a fluent speaker of te reo Māori to holding the highest possible qualification in Māori martial arts – Richard is a generous leader, sharing his knowledge and passion with his community and beyond. He is often travelling the country to partake in wānanga, and his dedication to Māori martial arts and Kapa Haka reflect his commitment to preserving traditional practices and passing them on to future generations. In everything he does, he supports young people across the community to embrace their whakapapa with pride, stand tall and be proud of who they are.”

“It’s the right thing to do,” Richard says. “It’s what’s going to help our kids, help our community, help our people to be able to learn, to grow, to develop, to heal.”

He believes the community needs culture and needs support, especially after the past three years.

He says there’s been a lot of misunderstanding in the community.

“That brings a host of emotions, including fear and anxiety. What people have learned to do in this day and age is they silo themselves. They shut everybody out.

“Which means they cut off their support networks.”

Richard says it’s about developing support networks and awhi through the whole community, not just Māori, and hopes if he can bring that in a cultural context, it has more meaning and a little more connection, which helps to bring people in.

He says the classes he runs, such as te reo, waiata and the Kapa Haka group, are designed to give the community and rangatahi opportunities and experiences they wouldn’t naturally have in a community such as Pahīatua.

He also believes that it’s important to teach and share with his students cultural values and understanding from a Māori world perspective, so the students can be open and understanding of other cultures.

“It’s that compassion that’s really important for our kids.”