16/10/2025
Kia ora e te whānau,
This is a hard kōrero to have, but one that needs to come from us — the team at Kōrero Mai.
For those who know, when Kahurangi announced to whānau in September that she was planning to close Te Puna, I stepped up and said I would take it off her hands and transitioned to learn the ins and outs of running the Puna. Over the last few weeks we have been on the look out for qualified kaiako to join our team for when Kahurangi and Fiona stepped away as well as working hard to boost enrolments and create opportunities for the wider community to get behind the kaupapa, but despite those efforts, the response hasn’t been enough. Due to this we’ve had to make the tough call to temporarily close the doors of Kōrero Mai Puna Reo.
At this stage we are unsure what this looks like in the future and what will happen later on down the track. We have recognised that here is a want for the kaupapa to continue for our future generations, so if we rally enough support and drive I believe we can start something fresh and revisit this in the new year. I’m all for hearing your whakaaro and coming together with ideas as a community to make something happen.
In light of the situation we plan to go out with a bang. So our last day will be Tuesday, 29th October, the day of Trunk or Treat. The raffle will still go ahead, and any profits will go towards another kaupapa with the same purpose — revitalising te reo Māori through education. We hope to see you all there!
