Fijian Language Week champion looks forward to finale hosted by Ara-Te Pūkenga

_{Surrounded by her whanau, Mere Kikau is a strong supporter of Macawa Ni Vosa Vakaviti}

Mere Kikau, who recently started work at Ara Institute of Canterbury-Te Pūkenga as a Pacific Navigator, is looking forward to celebrating her language at the Macawa Ni Vosa Vakaviti (Fijian Language Week) finale on campus this weekend.

Fiercely passionate about the importance of keeping the Fijian language alive in Fijian New Zealanders’ lives, she’s coordinated the Fijian community’s language week activities in Canterbury since she arrived in New Zealand in 2015.

“This will be the first year I haven’t run an event for Macawa Ni Vosa Vakaviti, and I miss it! I’ll have to make up for it at the closing event on Saturday!” she says

Mere Kikau’s role in the Pacific Navigator team at Ara-Te Pūkenga focuses on building relationships with Pacific families through the Cultural Home project which sees the Pacific Achievement team supporting students’ families.

Sua Tauti, Director Pacific Achievement, attributes the hugely successful programme to families being able to talk face-to-face with someone from their community, often in their native language.

“Pacific people are proud and mightn’t want to reach out for help. Our navigators break down that barrier by building relationships with families, and a big part of that is being able to talk to someone from the same background, with the same values,” he says.

When we can do this in people’s native language, we can build relationships even faster,” he adds.

Mere Kikau has a Bachelor of Teaching and Learning (Primary) and taught for 10 years in Fiji. After moving to Aotearoa, she worked for another six years at Christchurch East School as a Teacher Aide.

With her teaching background and three children at home, she’s naturally gravitated towards creating programmes and activities for Macawa Ni Vosa Vakaviti (Fijian language week) for children.

At the heart of her role at Ara-Te Pūkenga is a desire to see her wider community flourish by breaking down barriers and making a difference for students and their families.

“Many of our families are first generation learners and don’t know much about tertiary education,” she says. “It’s important that we build strong relationships connecting their whānau and their whole community to this place of learning.”

“That’s why I’m excited to see everyone at Ara-Te Pūkenga on Saturday for the Macawa Ni Vosa Vakaviti family celebration. Everyone is welcome!” she encourages.