Our farmers operate often at the mercy of issues beyond their control. It’s easy for things to get on top of them.
For the Komene whānau, in Aria, a small King Country town, singing has been a way to pass the time during lockdown. It’s also helped to keep their spirits up. The whānau regularly post Facebook videos of themselves singing away on social media. They say the feedback they’ve received has shown that it’s helped make a difference in their community.
Apolline Komene works from home, and husband Vaughan is an operations manager for a farm. Komene says that they included their farm workers as part of the whānau bubble.
"I've really enjoyed it. I mean obviously it's not a positive thing for New Zealand. As for the downtime with my family, and getting that extra time with the kids, it's been great!" Apolline Komene says.
So while maintaining employment is not an issue, missing out on whānau events is.
"I've had two nephews that were born, that I haven't met yet. There's all of that's been playing on my mind," Apolline Komene says.
Celebrating the first time that daughter Alani was happy to sing and be recorded, they performed the Creedance Clearwater Revivial classic, Have You Ever Seen The Rain.