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National | Christmas

Helping whānau this festive season

Christmas is here and so are the events that take the burdens of this festive season off families.

A collaboration between Manurewa Marae, Papakura Marae, Papatuanuku Kokiri, and Auckland City Mission means families have resources to keep safe but still celebrate. The marae is supporting up to 2,000 families this festive season, and it’s all ethnicities, Manurewa Marae chief executive Takutai Kemp says.


Keeping the Christmas cheers going while keeping safe.

"So the Six Days of Christmas is a partnership we've been involved in for the past three years and it's kaupapa that's really close to our hearts as the marae being able to serve our hapori, being able to spread Christmas cheer, some good kai and presents and support to whānau in a time of need. And you know, we've been really privileged to be able to be part of this relationship because like we've said many times, this is meant to be the most special time of year for whānau but it's actually one of the hardest times of the year for our people."

Manurewa Marae has identified the burden of the Christmas season on families in South Auckland communities and the marae doesn’t just help Māori but also the many ethnicities in the community, Kemp says.

‘What we see is that the need is across all ethnicities, in fact not just ethnicities. We're seeing whānau that would never have had access to this support before and whānau that are employed. Low-income earners are still needing support. You know, we've seen whānau lose jobs throughout Covid-19. We're still seeing whānau come through that need who have two incomes and their family but it's still not enough. So we support all whānau that are needing awhi."