“Early learning is the most important education sector in the world.” Those are the words of Ray Everest, co-owner of Future Focus Early Learning Childcare Centre, who visited Te Ko’anga Reo o Takitumu daycare centre last week.

The New Zealand-based Future Focus Early Learning Childcare Centre focuses on early education, encouraging and supporting children to further their experiences and knowledge with the world.

Te Ko’anga Reo o Takitumu, based at Pā Marie Upokotini Ariki’s palace in Turangi, aims to revitalise reo Māori by creating a total immersion environment that nurtures and upholds pe’u Māori and pe’u tupuna.

In a special event on Friday, Pa Marie Ariki of Takitumu warmly welcomed the Everest family, including his wife Courtney and their two daughters, and Britney Tulafono.

Pa Marie Ariki acknowledged their dedication and time in building a relationship with Te Ko’anga Reo o Takitumu daycare centre to improve early childhood education and help teachers strengthen Cook Islands Māori at Ko’anga Reo.

Speaking to Cook Islands News, Ray Everest said their aim was to create more opportunities for Māori people to help build relationships with others to grow the importance of early education.

They also want to help guide and support Te Ko’anga reo o Takitumu to have Cook Islands Māori teaching implanted into their early childhood education.

“Our job is to really become tuakana teina in that space, to really support what they’re trying to achieve here at Ko’anga,” Ray said.

He is also keen to explore how his experience with Ko’anga Reo can inform the creation of a partnership that would enable teachers from New Zealand to travel to the Cook Islands.

“That’s quite an important factor to this as well that tuakana teina relationship goes both ways. When we send some of our teachers across here, they come into the teina (student) space with the tuakana (teachers) of Cook Islands working with them and helping grow their expertise too.”

The Everests and Tulafono are focused on leading and supporting teaching at Te Ko’anga Reo o Takitumu, bringing experiences and information from Future Focus Early Childhood Education to support and enhance the importance of teaching Cook Islands Māori in early childhood education.

“If we can help children in the first 2000 days, if we can give them a great experience, if they feel safe and loved and feel like they’re learners, we are setting them up to do really well in their next frames of school and help them go to represent their whanau in great ways in the future,” Ray said.

The Ko’anga Reo caters for ages between new-born and five years and is supported by parents and the community, with all fundraising and fees going towards its core operations.