Since the nationwide lockdown was announced yesterday, the Facebook page Lockdown Entertainment has gained increasing attention from around the world.
The Facebook page was created on the first day of lockdown last year and it's still going strong, with more than 66,000 members. It was created by Lani Ketu with the purpose of uplifting the wairua of the people during the lockdown period by offering live entertainment.
Ketu says after the lockdown announcement was made last night, the page was receiving about 100 requests every half an hour.
“We’re getting more and more people requesting to join the page. I’m also encouraging whānau, all those that were part of the lockdown last year to haere mai, hoki mai. Everyone is in lockdown so come back whānau. Come and be part of an awesome kaupapa to uplift the wairua of our people.”
Ketu started the page in March 2020 in memory of her brother Moses Ketu.
“He was an exceptional musician. My brother passed away two years ago suddenly at the age of 51. He toured with The Drifters and a lot of other professional musos not just here in Aotearoa but also over in Australia.”
The page has also helped people struggling throughout the lockdown.
“Last year when we went through the lockdown initially I had a lot of messages from people who were suffering from depression, mental illness, loneliness, so they were direct messaging me to say thank you. Thank you for the opportunity to come on board.”
Ketu says the page has evolved, attracting members from all over the world.
“We’ve had a lot of different people come on site. It’s global so we’re not only catering to people in Aotearoa, New Zealand but also Australia, mostly our Māori whānau but all from all over the world. People are tuning in and coming to sing, share their koha aroha, their gift of music to the people to uplift the wairua going through this challenging period of the lockdown.”
At 11.58pm last night a karakia was held on the page by Whaea Anne Watson before New Zealand went into Covid-19 alert level 4.
“I want to give a mihi to her. She has been very faithful right throughout. So at 11.58 she put a panui out on the page that she would come do a blessing kia whakawātea, kia whakahaumaru the whānau, kia kotahi ai the whānau, to bring everyone and be safe in the manaakitanga o te Atua.”
Ketu says the page has received a lot of new entertainment since last year.
“We’ve had a lot of buskers come out. We’ve had a lot of bands live stream from their gigs but, because in Aotearoa everyone is in lockdown, I assume that everyone would be broadcasting from their lounges, their kitchens, their garages as they did once before," she says.