Inā te nui o ngā hiahia tē taea te whakatutuki. Koirā te whakahau a te kaiwhakahaere o Whānau Ora ki Te Uepu Noho Taone o Manukau mō te tokomaha o ngā whānau e haere atu ana ki te marae o Ngā Whare Waatea ki te tonga o Tāmaki Makaurau ki te whiwhi pouaka kai.
Ko te whakapae a Veronica Henare e hia rau ngā whānau ka noho kai kore tonu hei ngā rā o te kirihimete nō reira me tūwhera te kāwanatanga i ngā pūkoro hei āwhina.
“In the first week you could go to 200 and just say there were a few more, I would take them,” i kī atu a Henare.
“You know it broke my heart to have to turn away 200 people at people.”
Nō tērā atu Rāhina, e tuaritia ana e Te Mīhana o te pokapū o Tāmaki Makaurau ngā pouaka kai, perehana hoki mai i ngā marae o Ngā Whare Waatea, Papakura me Te Papatākaro o Ngā Ana Wai.
Tōna toru mano ngā pouaka kai kua tukuna mā ngā tāngata tekau mā rua mano e ono rau neke atu, wheoi hei tā te heamana o Whānau Ora o MUMA, kāore ngā hiahia i ea.
“Nui atu i tērā tā te mea kua kake haere ngā utu mō ngā kai, ngā taputapu, ngā taonga mō te noho haumaru i roto i ngā whare, te utu o ngā whare tonu,” te kupu a McLean.
I ngā rā e rima kua hipa, kua tae mai ngā whānau mai i Te Norta hoki i ngā pō, me te manako ia ka whiwhi kai mō te wā kerihimete nei.
E tuku wero ana a Henare ki te minita o Whānau Ora, o Tāmaki Makaurau hoki ki te haere ā tīnana mai kite ai i ngā hiahia nui, me te tuku āwhina.
“Auckland City Mission are the ones who donate all our kai through donations,” i mea atu ia.
“How about the government coming out and seeing the real need of what's happening. Why should we be turning away 200 people?”
“Korekau he take kia tatū au ki te marae,” i korero atu te Mema o Tāmaki Makaurau a Peeni Henare, “koina te whakaaro, engari, me mutu te mahi i konei i te tuatahi.”
Ko te Rāmere nei te rā whakamutunga hei tuku i ngā rawa, wheoi e hiahia ana a Henare ki te takoha tonu i ngā kai tae atu ki te rā o te kirihimete me te putea tautoko a te kāwanatanga.
