Research Awards
The NHWT Research Awards are for women who are conducting research that benefits women and/or girls in New Zealand.
The Ria McBride Research Award was awarded to Latai Tu'ulaki Sekeni Tu'imana at the Palmerston North Ceremony, 2015.
Tribute
Ria McBride Research Award was set up through a gift from Eileen Harrison and other members of the McBride family to NHWT for an endowment fund in the memory of Ria McBride. It is offered every two years to a woman graduate student enrolled in a New Zealand university who is involved in Masters or PhD research on a topic relating to women and girls. The award is for expenses relating to that thesis research.
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Latai, with her family receives the Ria McBride Research Award, 2015
My name is Latai Tu'ulaki Sekeni Tu'imana, I was born and raised in Tonga. I am a Women Trust wife and a mother of four children. I am a second year PhD student from Massey University with a strong back- ground in both early childhood and adult education. My research seeks to identify and measure the concept of learning as it relates to the Tongan church context. My doctoral proposal is entitled 'Church as a context for Tongan children's learning'. My own life experiences has led me to value the importance of informal learning on children's life development. Tongan children's lives are woven through lived experiences in church, families and culture.