Trainee nurse Kairangi Teokotai was only 18 years old when she left high school to become a full-time carer to her elderly grandmother. The year-long experience changed Kairangi’s life and inspired her to become a nurse.
“I fell in love with caring for our elderly. Growing up, my grandmother taught me strong cultural values. This has been influential with my desire to support others and improve the quality of life for our Pacific people,” says Kairangi, 22.
The Cook Islands student is in her final year of study for a nursing degree at Auckland’s Manukau Institute of Technology.
Last year, she was awarded the Christina Atoa Tapu Nursing Scholarship by the Pasifika Medical Association (PMA) and received her award at a ceremony in Auckland.
“It was an amazing honour to receive the scholarship. It made me cry. Initially, I felt like I didn’t deserve it. Then I looked at how resilient I had been throughout my academic year. This is one of the biggest blessings that I have received.”
The scholarship pays tribute to the late Christina Atoa Tapu, a pioneer who devoted most of her life to Pacific health as a nurse, a cultural advisor, mentor, and educator. Amongst her many achievements, she was the cultural advisor at Middlemore Hospital, the chair for the Samoan Nurses Association and the National Coordinator of the first survey of Pacific nurses and nursing students. She was awarded a New Zealand Order of Merit in 2005 and PMA Service Award in 2007. The applications for this year’s scholarship opened last week and close on Friday 25 June 2021.
Kairangi was raised in Tokoroa and says her upbringing and her cultural values are the qualities she will bring to a career in nursing.
“As a young person who has seen and experienced first-hand discrimination, stigma, and poverty, I have developed both understanding and compassion for our Pacific people. I want to encourage our people to make healthy choices for themselves and for future generations.”
Applications for the Christina Atoa Tapu Scholarship and the other PMA Scholarships are now open.
Please visit: www.pacifichealth.org.nz/2021-pacific-health-education-scholarships/
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Date: Tuesday 25 May 2021