When she first studied with Te Wānanga o Raukawa in 2003, Anne Drenah, her husband and their five tamariki lived at Matawaia, on the whānau homestead. The home had, and still has, no electricity so she would drive up the road, or into town, or wait till noho in Ōtaki to charge her laptop. To get to Ōtaki, she would travel thirteen hours by bus and train. To take advantage of the electricity at Te Wānanga o Raukawa, she would stay awake to research and work on assignments, then sleep on the train and bus ride home. Financially Anne Drenah and her whānau weathered some tough times. 

From the far North, Anne Drenah has been an ākonga, a kaiāwhina, and kaimahi of Te Wānanga o Raukawa since 2003. She successfully completed the Tāhuhu Mātauranga Māori in 2005, and has been a Pūkenga with Marae Based Studies, Mātauranga Māori, and Pūkenga Matua in Te Reo Māori, Heke Rongoā and Iwi and Hapū studies. She has held the role as Kaihautū, Te Whare Aronui since 2020. Te Whare Aronui works with ākonga to produce research on their marae, whānau, hapū and iwi. 

Anne Drenah is the sixth child from a whānau of eleven tamariki. Raised in a reo speaking rural community by marae parents, several of the siblings were educated at Māori boarding schools. Anne Drenah attended Queen Victoria School for Māori Girls and did a final year at Ōtahuhu College, both in Auckland. 

While working at a kōhanga reo in Whangarei, Anne Drenah was taken by the hand by Riuroa Saunders and enrolled into a teaching programme at the Northland Polytechnic. She completed the training and received a three-year teaching diploma. Two years later she enrolled into studies at Te Wānanga o Raukawa. Anne Drenah believes that if it had not been for Riuroa she would never have enrolled and followed this pathway of education. 

Matawaia School is where Anne Drenah taught once qualified. It is the same school that her mother, her siblings, her husband, her tamariki, and she attended. 

Studying while working was, and is the norm for Anne Drenah 

While working at Te Wānanga o Raukawa, Anne Drenah has also completed the Tāhuhu Te Reo Māori (Master of Te Reo Māori), the Poutuarongo Toi Whakarākai - Raranga and Whatu (Bachelor of Design and Art - Weaving), the Heke Kaitiakitanga Pūtaiao (Diploma in Enviromental Management)  and the Poupou Pakari Tinana (Certificate in Physical Wellbeing). Her growth and love for Māori knowledge has attracted many of her whānau to enrol and contribute to the mātauranga Māori continuum. 

In 1995, Anne Drenah married Hoori Kākā also of Ngāpuhi. They have five tamariki, Rawinia is an administrator for Paediatric Cardiology, at the Starship Hospital, Marereira is a pharmacist, Marney is an administrator studying towards a Bachelor of Organisational Technology Management, Hinengaro is a beauty therapist, and Mitchell is a pipelayer in the mines in Australia, and eight mokopuna. At one time they all lived together, but gradually the children and mokopuna have left home, although not entirely. 

Anne Drenah would like ākonga to grow connections to te ao Māori through learning about the beauty in our kōrero tuku iho and knowing the importance of sharing these stories with our tamariki, so they can grow their own relationships to te ao Māori. It is important to grow relationships with our kaumātua, marae, whānau, hapū and iwi. Anne Drenah and the Iwi and Hapū team are committed to supporting Māori learners on their education journey. 

For more information about our programmes visit https://www.wananga.com 

Ko te manu e kai ana i te miro nōna te ngahere, ko te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga nōna te ao.