A leap of faith five years ago took Viv Ngere on a journey of discovery and reclamation that not only brought her academic success but a whole new perspective on how she lives her life.
Back in 2020, Viv, Tui Ora’s Kaiarahi for Kia Piki Te Ora (Māori Suicide Prevention), left her relationship and her job, looking for life that better aligned with her values and aspirations.
“I was 42 and starting over – it was a scary place to be,” she says. “But something in me was saying I needed to change my path, that there was another way.”
As a young mother, Viv had gone to Australia to build a family, but in 2013 she felt a calling to come back to Aotearoa. She began learning te reo Māori and realised there was a whole other world view waiting to be discovered.
“Before I began learning te reo, I had had no connection with te ao Māori at all, so it was then really that I started reclaiming my whakapapa and understanding the concept of decolonisation.”
“Then came the leap of faith.”
She enrolled to study for a BA, majoring in both History and Māori Knowledge, and then went straight on to complete a Masters in Māori and Indigenous Leadership with Distinction.
“I’m not going to say it was easy, juggling a job, family and studies, but the learning journey I was experiencing was transformative. I think the biggest barrier I faced was my own self-doubt but the drive for reclamation and attacking each assignment as it came really helped. Attending wānanga led by matanga like Sacha McMeeking, Che Wilson and Rangi Matamua was inspiring too.
“But there was one occasion I remember so vividly because I had such an epiphany – I was listening to Dame Tariana Turia speak about the concept of Whānau Ora and how people could actively live by its values and kaupapa. In that moment, I realised the scale of the impact colonisation has had, and continues to have, not just on Māori as a whole, but on me too.”
“I realised I had to liberate my own mind and share my understandings with my inner circle like my whānau, hapū, workplace, and the communities I work in building capability and capacity along the way to break the system. It was a huge shift in thinking.”
It was one she shared with her whānau to bring them on the waka with her, and the concept of Whānau Ora sustained them through a very difficult time that saw her father Jim and uncle Joey both experience serious heart issues before uncle Joey was diagnosed with cancer and passed away, and her son Taine left with a traumatic brain injury after being assaulted.
“My kids Taine (26), Skye (24) and Ethan (19) as well as their father have very much come along for the journey in all this and have developed a deep appreciation for our culture – it’s been a shift in mindset for them too.”
And now Viv is at another crossroads after experiencing the joy of her Masters graduation ceremony in Christchurch.
“It was amazing to be there with everyone – it was apparently the biggest Māori graduation ceremony known as Eke Tangaroa at University of Canterbury ever to graduate which makes me so proud to see us winning.”
“I don’t really know what is next. My journey so far has given me a deep appreciation of all the perspectives and alternate realities at play as we reclaim and decolonise and I think that is really valuable as I help people make their own connections and deepen their own understanding so I’ll continue in that space for a while, helping people to heal.”