Overview
July, 2023
Mikaere Haumaha: Pepeha
Ko Maungatautari me ko Hautere nga maunga
Ko Pokaiwhenua te awa
Ko Tainui te waka
Ko Raukawa te iwi
Ko Ngāti Āhuru te hapu
Ko Mangakaretu te marae
Ko Nga-Hau-E-Maha te tangata
Ko Mikaere James Anaru Haumaha ahau
Mikaere Haumaha (Raukawa, Ngāti Maniapoto, Te Arawa, Ngāti Maru) is fourteen years old, and lives with his parents Kimmi and Anaru on family land near Putāruru. His older 16 year old brother Cruix recently moved in with their kuia/grandmother who lives next door. Their koroua/grandfather passed away in August 2019 and the decision for one of boys to move in with her was for company and support was described by their whānau as tūturu Māori and appropriate. She is elderly and they both love her dearly. It is not unusual for mokopuna this kaupapa to occur. Both Mikaere and his brother were raised by their paternal grandparents from birth, giving their parents an opportunity to work fulltime. Another bonus is Mikaere no longer has to share a bedroom with his older brother. Both Mikaere and Cruix spend a lot of time with their grandmother at weekends. They live next to their marae Mangakaretu. Mikaere has lived there all his life. He doesn’t think he would like to live in town but enjoys hanging out with his “townie” mates.
School
Mikaere attends John Paul College in Rotorua, having finished at St Mary’s Catholic School at the end of 2021. His favourite subject is religious studies, and he is not such a fan of maths. His parents noted that he often reads the Bible, highlighting passages that interest him. He likes learning things about the Bible, which is likely a result of his Catholic background. His grandfather Joseph Haumaha (deceased 2019) was a Catholic Deacon and his whānau have always been active St Patricks Parishioners.
Mikaere wears a uniform to school – grey drill shorts, polo shirt, jersey (which he doesn’t wear), and next year he will wear a tie. He does all his schoolwork on a computer, and his old laptop is included in this acquisition. He moved to high school with lots of mates, which made the transition easier. One of the major changes was having to get up earlier to get the bus, as it is a 1 hour trip each way. He was having trouble getting ready in the morning, so his dad helped him to establish a morning routine and they wrote it down. Their morning task list is included in the collection.
Mikaere was at St Mary’s Catholic School during the national Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. He would have a zoom call with his teacher in the morning and go over the work he had to do, then he was able to do his own thing a little bit. He got used to it, and would ring his mates to keep in touch.
Sport and recreation
Mikaere has been playing rugby since he was six. Before that (at ages 4 and 5) he played soccer. He wanted to join his mate Mana who was playing rugby, which is why he started too. Ten years later he is still playing in the same rugby and basketball teams with his mate Mana.
Mikaere’s basketball and rugby games run in the same winter season. His training sessions and games are in Rotorua, which is 40 minutes away. He has rugby training on Tuesday and Thursday and games on Friday and Saturday or Sunday. Basketball training is on Wednesday and the game is on Thursday.
In the future, Mikaere wants to do something to do with sport – either rugby or basketball. His parents want to make sure he has other options as well, as backup. They note that rugby just keeps getting rougher and rougher, the older you get.
Kapa Haka is usually at school on Wednesdays, but it depends a bit on the kaupapa. A kapa haka trip is in the works – they are planning to go to Hawaii in 2024 so are fundraising. Mikaere also does Waka Ama in summer and has training two times a week.
Free time
In his free time, Mikaere likes to head into town (Putāruru) with his mates and recently he has been learning to cut hair. He gives his friend’s haircuts (‘Free cuts for life’), as well as his dad.
One of Mikaere’s favourite artists is Bryson Tiller, an American singer, songwriter and rapper. He watches Last Chance U, a basketball documentary on Netflix, and Swagger, which is also about basketball. The family have quite a few devices – Ipads, laptops etc (they are Apple people) – and Mikaere has a cell phone which he keeps breaking.