It's Māori Language Week and a financial literacy programme is aiming to teach kids - in Te Reo - how to be money-savvy.
Tikitiki o Putea is grounded in te ao Māori values and has already been a great success in one kura kaupapa.
ASB has been developing a programme to teach tamariki the basics of managing money in te reo Māori. They trialled the course at one kura kaupapa in Tamaki Makaurau.
"Our programme is going really well. We've had really good support from our kura that we have travelled to. The students really enjoy it. I enjoyed it. It's just an all-round amazing programme that looks into te ao Māori and also inspires our language," Tikitiki O Putea facilitator Unique Powell said.
They aim to normalise conversations about money in the household.
"Amongst many of our Māori whanau, money is not widely spoken about, so we see this as a tool to start those conversations amongst tamariki," ASB spokesperson Tawa Campbell-Seymour said.
It was crucial for the program to be re-imagined with te ao Māori values.
"We believe that te reo Māori is the sustenance of our livelihood and so is putea (finances) so it's very important that we give the integrity of our language to be a driver so our people can understand the deeper meaning of how money can sustain them in their whanau," Powell said.
They've already put what they learned in the classroom to the test with a very successful bake sale.
"The kids had spoken to the teachers that it was going to be $200 that they made. We reached a goal of $720," teacher Ruhia Henare-Samuels said.
After the programme, the number of students who felt they were able to discuss money with their whanau increased more than 50 percent. Their understanding of the importance of budgeting was up by 40 percent and knowledge of setting financial goals increased by 35 percent.
The programme stems from the original financial literacy programme GetWise. It's in its pilot stage but they're hoping to bring these sessions to more kura kaupapa Māori.
"I'm hoping that they can go home and talk to their parents about this kaupapa because it doesn't stop here. They need to go home and explore how their parent balance this stuff too," Henare-Samuels said.
The programme is looking to expand across the country - setting our tamariki up for financial success.
