Ngati Tarawhai eye on future

Angela Tunui with 4-year-old Seridy Nikora at the new centre. Photo / Stephen Parker

Ngati Tarawhai Iwi Trust is investing in the future generations by opening a new childcare centre.

The Puawai Early Centre in Pohutakawa Dr was officially opened on Saturday and already has 16 children enrolled.

Centre manager Angela Tunui said research showed there was a huge need for the centre to open in the Owhata west area.

"The Ministry of Education did research around the area and found there was a high percentage of young children not engaging in early childhood education. They offered the contract to providers, we applied and our proposal was successful," she said.

The centre is bilingual, teaching te reo Maori and English and a cook has been hired to provide children with a hot lunch each day.

"All our staff are Maori. I think seven out of eight are Ngati Tarawhai, with the centre's curriculum and planning incorporating aspects of Ngati Tarawhai while also acknowledging the mana whenua. Our trust has a strong focus on its vision - knowledge to strengthen and better the people. We want to start from the beginning, with our newborn babies, giving them that first step in that direction and providing them the best start in life, not only for Maori but the whole community," Mrs Tunui said.

"We are very excited to open. It's such a wonderful, colourful and fun centre. We are honoured to be part of this initiative and the community have been waiting patiently for us to open - some families have deliberately not enrolled their children elsewhere but wanted to wait for us to open."

Treasurer of the trust, Manu Malcolm, said the centre aimed to establish a good education foundation for young children.

"For a lot of these parents, they are busy trying to make a living and education has not always been a priority and, for many of them, they haven't experienced that themselves.

"This centre is part of the trust's strategic planning, to provide an early childhood facility to begin their journey of learning. We believe education is the key to success," he said.

"People have asked us, 'Why Pohutakawa Dr'? and we say, 'Why not'? Data tells us that's where the need is."