Unitec Masters student wins kaupapa Māori research award

Master of Applied Practice (Social Practice) ākonga Deb Cole has been awarded the Wahine Ora award in recognition of her kaupapa Māori research into the lived experiences of kuia who raise mokopuna living with Te Iho Tātai-ā-Rongo (FASD – fetal alcohol spectrum disorder).

Through her research, Deb is showing how kuia stories, alongside nascent Māori research on the disorder, can help inform and shape policy, support and resourcing.

“Their voice is important because the vast majority of grandparents raising mokopuna are grandmothers, nannies like me and yet their voice is silent,” says Deb, who advocates on behalf of impacted whānau.

Bestowed by the New Horizons for Women Trust, and co-funded by the trust and Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, the Māori centre of research excellence, the annual award is given in recognition of research benefitting Māori women, children and their whānau in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Reverend Deb Cole (Ngāti Terarawa, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Kahu, Te Rarawa, Ngai Takoto) is a mother of five and nana to 20, two of whom have Te Iho Tātai-ā-Rongo (FASD).

She is an ordained Anglican minister in Te Pīhopatanga o Te Tai Tokerau, and a member of the church’s Tīkanga Māori on the Council for Anglican Women’s Study (CAWS), Māori Coalition Kaitiaki for Te Iho Tātai-ā-Rongo, Te Kāhui Taurikura.

Deb is in her second year of Unitec’s Master of Applied Practice (Social Practice) programme.

In making the award, New Horizons for Women Trust: Hine Kahukura chairwoman Dr Robyn Dixon, says, “We are extremely proud of the partnership with Ngā Pāe o te Maramatanga in sponsoring the Wahine Ora award.

“Deb embodies everything that New Horizons for Women: Hine Kahukura is about, and her research is not only beneficial but so applicable to so many. We celebrate you Deb, may your work advance the frontiers of knowledge and practice.”

Trust those people who have your best interests at heart

Deb began the Unitec master’s programme with a sense of trepidation after not having studied for several years, but she says the support and encouragement of staff in the Master of Applied Practice programme and at Ngā Wai a Te Tūī, Unitec’s Māori and Indigenous research Centre, have been an indelible part of her journey.

“I was terrified at first, but then I realised that you’re never too old to learn. My problem was that I didn’t believe in myself, but then I accepted that you just have to keep moving forward.

“I came to Unitec because both my sister and my son had really recommended Associate Professor Byron Rangiwai as a supervisor.

“As soon as I met with him, I knew it was going to be OK. He ran his lectures like wānanga and let us be vulnerable – he had a very soothing way of drawing out the best in us.”

Deb has recently completed a ten-week internship at Nga Pāe o te Maramatanga, facilitated by Associate Professor Hinekura Smith, director of Ngā Wai a Te Tūī, and supervised by Dr Karen Wright, Te Kupenga Hauora Māori.

She will soon begin a summer internship with Ngā Wai a Te Tūī under the supervision of
Associate Professor Byron Rangiwai, where she will complete a literature review about neurodiversity looking specifically at connections between FASD and ADHD.

“What a ride!” she says. “Byron building layers of confidence and Hinekura giving me a big push have all shaped and grown me,” she says.

“Trust those people who have your best interests at heart and want you to be your best self.”

Deb also credits Applied Practice lecturers Dr Geoff Bridgman and Professor Helen Gremillion with helping to encourage and extend her.

“I never felt that my mana was ever diminished by them,” she says. “Without them, I wouldn’t have done my internship and then stretched myself further.”

Deb, who is a charismatic public speaker, receives a $10,000 cash prize as part of her award.

“The scholarship is the most incredible treasure,” she says. “It will enable me to give a good koha to kuia for the gift they’re giving me by entrusting me with their stories.

“It’ll also help me to get to places in my car, and to keep it all going so I can get through this.”

Deb will be presented with her award at a ceremony next March.