Disability awareness training at Te Wānanga o Raukawa builds connections and knowledge

Ngā mihi to Te Wānanga o Raukawa for hosting a two-and-a-half-hour disability awareness session for its kaimahi in Ōtaki on Friday 24 July. Disabled presenters from the Turi (Deaf) and Kāpō (blind) communities led the training.

Te Wānanga o Raukawa is a tikanga Māori tertiary provider.

The session was co-facilitated by Sharleen Tongalea, Senior Coordinator - Youth and Adults Team in Auckland, and Paparina Burgoyne, Pou Ārahi for the Central region, both from CCS Disability Action. They presented alongside Tanesha Sleeman of Te Rōpū Kaitiaki Turi, a Deaf Māori-led advisory group and a te reo Māori Turi group, currently working with CCS Disability Action to revitalise te reo Māori sign language. Also presenting was Peter Allen MNZM (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Tamatea, Kāi Tahu ki te Waipounamu), a member of Kāpō Māori Aotearoa, Blind Citizens NZ, and Te Ao Mārama Aotearoa.

Two NZSL interpreters fluent in te reo Māori, Zana Paraha Johnson and Rosita Brown, worked across the session.

“It was a fantastic opportunity to connect full of humour, laughter and learning,” says Sharleen.

What the session covered

The presenters spoke about supporting disabled people, with a focus on sensory impairment, hearing, sight, accessibility, and inclusion. Each shared their own story. Sharleen talked about her journey through childhood and education. Sleeman spoke about being excluded from tikanga Māori, such as tangihanga (funerals) as a Deaf person.

“The aim was to provide authentic insights into the realities of navigating the world as disabled people and to highlight the importance of listening to the voices of disabled people and their whānau,” explains Sharleen.

The group also discussed the barriers they have each worked around, and how to grow and support a pipeline of NZSL interpreters who understand and sign te reo Māori. Participants learnt an NZSL waiata and to introduce themselves by fingerspelling their names.

Ange Te Whaiti, who works at Te Wānanga o Raukawa, felt it was an enriching experience.

"Thank you all so much for the fantastic training, your delivery, and your support of this kaupapa with Te Wānanga o Raukawa. We really appreciated the knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm you brought to the session. We've received lots of positive feedback," she said.

Sharleen says staff continued the kōrero (conversation) into the breaks and several shared their experiences with disabled family members.

"The audience was highly engaged and embraced the opportunity to learn directly from whānau hauā (disabled Māori) with lived experience," she said.

Te Wānanga o Raukawa are exploring further opportunities to work with CCS Disability Action to deepen accessibility and inclusion.

If your organisation is interested in disability awareness training, contact our national training advisor.

About CCS Disability Action

CCS Disability Action is the largest pan-disability support and advocacy organisation in Aotearoa New Zealand.

We support people with all types of impairments and have been working alongside disabled people since 1935.

We are at the forefront of service provision, advocacy and information sharing in the disability sector. We partner with disabled people, their families and whānau to enable them to have choice and control in their lives. Our vision is to see every disabled person and whānau hauā interwoven into the lives of their whānau and community.