Mahana Stories

As soon as COVID hit we got together
to figure out how we could support
our kaumātua and kuia. In our
community the majority are Māori,
most are over 60. We needed our
own plan for our community in the
context of Māoridom.
Aroha
Our intention was to protect older
people, the disabled and our babies.
We were stuck on the virus
but kaumātua and kuia
were coming into the
checkpoints to talk.
People had family just down the road
but they couldn’t visit. They didn’t
have a mobile or know how to check
their messages so they thought
no-one was calling. They thought,
‘nobody needs me,’ and some even
considered taking their own lives. So
we told them, ‘we need you.’
Our rangatahi were delivering
essentials and they were really stoked
to do it. We’re a small community -
everyone knows everyone but not a
lot of the rangatahi knew our elderly
so it was really cool that they got to
build those relationships and that
mutual respect.
They would go out to our rural
communities and see how they
were smoking fish, shelling kinas.
They got to taste some and see how
they were doing it. That was
powerful.
We were close before this
happened but new relationships
have formed and they’ll continue. If
they see each other in town they’ll
go and say hello. We’re also
carrying on with the food deliveries
for those people who have been
impacted - maybe they’ve lost
income through COVID.
Safety means more than just
protection from the virus - we need
to be culturally safe and
emotionally and physically
connected.