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That bedding is beautiful!

The referral for this whānau was recieved from their GP practice. The whānau consits of Mum, Dad and 3 children; a 4 year old girl, 3 year old boy, and 10mth old baby (with a genetic condition and significant health issues).The whānau were living in a whānau owned property. They reported issues with dampness and mould. There were also a few structural issues creating draughts and contributing to dampness.The front sliding door was unable to close fully, creating a significant draught and als...

Working Together

This referral came from Tuai Kopu, the hospitals maternity support service, for a Mama who was pregnant with her 7th child, due in September.The whānau is Mum, Dad, their 6 children  (aged 15-2yrs) and a niece (12). The whānau have been living in their home for a long time and were recently able to purchase it from whānau.I visited the home and completed a Child Healthy Homes Program (CHHP) assessment. When I initially visited, the whānau were heating the lounge with a radiant bar heate...

Warm and dry this winter

This whānau self referred into the Child Healthy Housing Program after hearing about the service from another Māmā at kindy.The whānau had recently purchased their own home, and wanted support making it warm and dry for their 5 children and new baby on the way.The home had no heat source when I first visited, so a referral to EECA was one of the first things that was actioned. The whānau have since had a fireplace installed, using the EECA grant, and we have been able to supply them with a ...

Firewood makes a difference!

A whanau I am working with only had a small pie warmer balancing on a broken small table in their living area as heating. The house is sparsely furnished. They had been turning the main oven on to try and stay warm but their power bill was too big. The whare was freezing, and the 8 year old boy was hardly at school, one reason was he was so cold at night to sleep.Firewood got delivered yesterday. I called in to see the whanau. They were so excited as had the fire burning and the old pie warmer w...

His own new PJs!

One 5year old boy I took PJ’s to a month ago. He lives in a crowded whare of approx. 12 others so he and his Mum often slept under a tarpaulin alongside the whare ,when he was cold at night he went inside to find a bed space. I gave him a pair of PJ’s and his face lit up ! The next day I went to the whare and he ran outside in his new PJ’s so proud of himself. He didn’t want to go to school because he didn’t want to take them off! It was the most beautiful look on his face ,his own new...

Ahi Mahana - the Wairoa Curtain Bank

Wharariki Trust is proud to have been a part of the collaboration between Te Whatu Ora—Child Healthy Homes programme, Health NZ, Genesis Energy, and ECCT in establishing a curtain bank for the Wairoa community.The Child Healthy Housing supported the purchase of an industrial overlocker and sewing machine, and general sewing items like scissors and rulers. Health New Zealand provided an ideal space at Wairoa Hospital, where the curtain bank is now based, at no cost and furthermore, donated shel...

I am so happy!

Thank you for helping to get me selected for home improvements. It has made such a big difference to my home, and I feel so proud when I come home every day.The toilet and laundry room are beautiful and not rotting. I can now open my windows in the lounge without them falling out and letting in the air.I am so happy and want to keep going myself with other things that need doing.Nga Mihi Nui . Georgina...

Wow - thanks heaps!

The picture above sums up the joy for these tamariki at having their own beds, with new bedding. When this whanau was referred by the local GP practice due to ongoing respiratory issues. The 9-year-old had asthma as well as the other children. This was a private rental with no working heating present, no extraction in the bathroom or kitchen and 3 out of the 4 children were sleeping on foam mattresses on the floor. They had prioritised a bed for the 9-year-old but the room was still very cold. D...

Graduating Student - Mary Lolohea

Congratulations  to past student, Mary Lolohea who has graduated from the University of Waikato with a Bachelor of Music - major in music, stream in performance. Making the graduation even more special, was that Mary was asked to perform at the ceremony!  Miharo!Mary attended Flaxmere College, and was awarded the Flaxmere Pharmacy Scholarship...

Donation provides truck loads of firewood

Thanks to a generous donor, we have supplied dozens of firewood truckloads to families struggling to warm their homes this winter. Across Hawkes Bay and Wairoa, those impacted by the Cyclone or had poor heating in their homes had firewood delivered. Their smiles say it all!We were also able to provide pyjamas for the children as well....

MANZIS BUILD take out Community Award

A massive shout-out to the team at Manzis Build on their success at the PanPac Business Awards for taking out the Community Contribution Award for 2022. These guys are instrumental in helping us to support those in our community whose properties need urgent repairs, and they well deserve the accolades. Well done and thanks for all you do.You can read the full article about their success via the following link:‘Culturally competent’: How a Hastings building company is helping Māori, communit...

Keeping Our Tamariki Warm

Having a warm dry home is important for keeping whānau and particularly our vulnerable tamariki well and able to fight illness. The Wharariki Trust were able to source funds through the COVID-19 funding to purchase Tumu Timbers firewood to assist whānau to stay resilient and warm during the winter. This also connects us to ensuring whānau are up to date with vaccinations and health care. ...

School Lunch Programme

Over the years the Wharariki Trust has been passionate about healthy kai. Particularly for tamariki. Having the best start to life is key for young people that are growing and developingOur journey commenced with a community garden at Te Aranga Marae and gardens in schools in Flaxmere. We then worked with Kimi Ora Community School to provide resources to employ someone to prepare $1 school lunches each day. Through our relationships we were able to source donated Bostocks Chickens https://bostoc...

Marae Emergency Management

Kainga Rua Takitimu Marae Emergency Preparedness Project In such uncertain times with climate changes and extreme weather events, we with Te Puni Kokiri worked with local marae, Waipatu, Omahu Waiohiki and Te Haroto Marae to be able to stand up in a civil defence emergency event with resources and training. ...

Critical Repairs To Homes

Having a warm, dry and secure house has a huge impact on our wellbeing. Too many of our tamariki are hospitalised during the winter with respiratory admissions. Over the years, the Wharariki Trust has been an advocate for secure and healthy housing. We know from evidence that having a healthy, safe, warm and dry home has many positive impacts such as being more resilient to illness. Years ago, Graham Duff, who was then the president of the Hawke’s Bay Property Investors Association, discussed ...

Mama’s Club

Kia Ora my name is Benny Teremona Hone I am a solo mother of 10 children, I decided to joined the Flaxmere Mama’s Club in 2017, run by Mel Grant who was supported and under the Wharariki Trust Ana Apatu. In 2017 mid-November I was on my way to attend another mama session with the Flaxmere Mama Club at the Flaxmere Library. 20 mins before I attended, I drove and at that time I only my learner license. I was pulled over by the police with a full car of my children. I was given a fine and a warn...

Teen Parents

At the end of 2016 we asked Teen Parents what would help them to be good parents. They told us.. They want to live in an environment that is safe and teaches them to live independently. They also told us they want influence services to take a holistic approach when supporting teen parents and they wanted us to share the positives of being a dad with disengaged fathers. We have: Worked with the teen parent unit at Flaxmere College and William Colenso.Organised PATH Planning and then sourced fundi...

Jarmy Army

Over the years Wharariki Trust has provided thousands of pairs of warm pajamas (PJs) for Flaxmere children. Something so simple can be so rewarding. Providing pajamas has been a project over the years. The late Mary Fama and her husband Peter Fama were incredibly generous to be able to provide warm flannelette PJs for the children of Hawke’s Bay. We have worked alongside others such as Jarmies for June and more recently a collective of women have taken up this project. However, this year we ma...