Covid 19 coronavirus: Maori university body adapts health messages to reach students

By Māni Dunlop of RNZ

A Maori student association says the government has been too general in its messages and that they have to take matters into their own hands to make sure their Taouira are informed.

The government has been criticized for not reaching out to communities, especially young people, and more questions have been raised about instructions given to whānau and messages on precautions and prevention of the virus, following reports of confusion among those linked to the group from Papatoetoe High School.

Ngā Tauira Māori or Tāmaki Makaurau from the University of Auckland has ensured that the correct messages reach their students, as well as checking them regularly.

Co-director Mihiterina Williams (Ngāti Konohi, Te Whakatōhea and Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti) says that government messages have not been attacked, therefore Ngā Tauira handles her own communications.

“Much of what [the Government] They are saying that it is very general, they speak to Tāmaki Makaurau, as one, and they speak to Aotearoa whānui, as one, there is no specific calming kōrero that addresses our communities that feel this block much more than others and that is definitely also portrayed through communications in college, “Williams said.

He said that like many, they obtain their information through social media, and while he acknowledges the government’s work in terms of the Covid-19 response, there are flaws in the way they are reaching certain hapori.

Maori students in Auckland have been tailoring the messages to their students.

“That is something we have learned, not to depend on these governing bodies or these entities of power to tell us how, when and where we should support our tauira; obviously, we know how to take care of ours much more than they do,” he added. Mihiterina Williams said.

The other co-tumuaki, Te Rina West, (Te Arawa, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Tuwharetoa) says that although there are clear gaps in terms of government messages, the main focus is on the well-being of the students and that they feel supported.

“You try to understand that they [the Government] You may not be able to serve certain communities, but at the same time you still want more, so for us as a Maori student association, that is what we are trying to provide our students, the finest details and who you are. you and the check-in.

“The more information we can get, the better we can make sure our tauira is in the correct spaces,” West said.

They ask the government to focus on a more collaborative approach.

“I think it’s definitely great that the government is taking steps to get social media influencers to try to push more for certain messages, but giving the autonomy to make decisions for our own people is even more shocking,” said Te Rina West. .

In addition to making sure all tauira are informed, a key focus for co-tumuaki is making sure freshmen don’t miss out on the college experience entirely.

“It is in these first weeks that you meet people and for us it is here that we go out and try to meet the Maori students, because it can feel quite isolated, so I hope that we can take the initiative during the lockdown so that our students do not feel so isolated during this time. “

The Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities, Priyanca Radhakrishnan, who is also the Minister for Youth, defended the government’s Covid-19 message, saying that a variety of platforms were being used to connect with communities.

“Various government agencies are directly contacting organizations that work with our Rangatahi to see how we can do things better.

“There are some things that we are currently doing to make sure that we both tailor messages in a way that is relevant, but that we also use channels that are specifically relevant to those who speak different languages ​​or are from different demographics. We know that. We can. keep doing better, “said Radhakrishnan.