The next two weeks will see Ngātiwai Trust Board, Te Manawaroa o Ngāti Hine and Te Takiwā o Ngāpuhi ki Whangārei collaborating again to deliver 400 individual kai packs and bulk food parcels to 19 marae across Whangārei and surrounding areas.

The impacts of COVID-19 is proving that many kaumātua and whānau still need support despite the country moving to Alert Level Two. As iwi of Whangārei the collaborative approach means placing the health and wellbeing of people at the forefront of working together, and, the approach has proven to be a success.

Ngātiwai Chairman, Haydn Edmonds, said, “It is great that we are able to come together again with our whanaunga from Ngāti Hine and Ngāpuhi to continue to support our older people and vulnerable whānau in our communities.

“Since our first collaboration effort in the first weeks of Level 4 lockdown, we have been able to learn a lot from those experiences and have taken a more specific approach based on varying needs.” said Haydn.

On Friday 15 May kaumātua will receive two hot meals as well as other key pantry staples such as bread, tea bags, fruit, plain biscuits and a few other treats.

Geoff Milner, CEO of Ngāti Hine Health Trust, a key partner of Te Manawaroa o Ngāti Hine said, “We are supporting the kaupapa with our kaimahi helping with delivery, packing and coordination. The main thing about this collaboration is that we are putting people first, tangata te tuatahi. It’s not just about parcels, a lot of thought and aroha is going into this kaupapa like the hot meals kaumātua can enjoy.”

Saturday 16 May will see 200 whānau packs go out which include kai such as meat, cereal, milo, pasta, tinned foods, bread, fruit and vegetables.

Haydn Edmonds said “We learnt that our kai packs were often too much for our kaumātua to eat and store, so this time around we will provide them with some homemade kai that they can keep in the freezer and pull out and heat and eat when they want it.

“For our whānau out on the coast, we found it was difficult for them to get items that they need such as flour and sugar, so we are organising to get them these important items in bulk.” said Haydn.

The following week packs will be prepared and sent out to marae for distribution to their people in their rohe.

Pita Tipene of Te Manawaroa o Ngāti Hine said, “What is great to see is that we are listening to our people and customising how we support them. That will continue to change as we move through the different Alert Levels and advocate for what our people are saying.”

Te Takiwā o Ngāpuhi ki Whangārei Trustee, Janelle Beazley said, “As we head into Level 2 there are still people who will need support to cope in the COVID-19 environment.

“Te Takiwā o Ngāpuhi ki Whangārei has been working with Ngātiwai and Ngāti Hine to make sure our people who are in need get support to help them through this difficult time. We are grateful to all the people and marae representatives who have volunteered to do deliveries and donated time and goods. We are also fortunate that we have had our marae, Whangārei Terenga Paraoa, that has supported our efforts since Alert Level 4 and continues to do so.

“It has been heart-warming that even in these difficult times people are ready to pull together to look after others. Ko tū tika Te Whare Tapu o Ngāpuhi”

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