Update on Te Mana COVID-19 response for Ngāti Rangitihi

Apr 28, 2020 | Latest News

Today, Aotearoa is officially under Alert Level 3. It is an opportunity for us to reflect on the past five weeks and acknowledge all that Ngāti Rangitihi have achieved as a united iwi – and most importantly, how we have all rallied together to ensure our kaumātua and those considered at-risk, stay safe. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou, Ngāti Rangitihi.

As your Trust, staying connected and showing manaakitanga to our community – in Matatā, across the motu, and abroad – have always been core to how we operate. Our focus has been on continued support for our people and lifting those support levels in those parts of our community where COVID-19-related assistance has been needed the most.

What support have we been providing?

Over the past five weeks, we have been supporting the immediate needs of our kaumātua and vulnerable whānau in these unexpected times by:

  • delivering kai packages from The Food Company
  • weekly deliveries of chicken
  • compiling and delivering care packages with essential pantry staple supplies
  • delivering hygiene packs from Te Arawa Whānau Ora
  • doing grocery shopping
  • providing car rides for kaumātua going to the Doctor
  • checking in on our kaumātua by phone
  • showing our kaumātua how to use technology

Continued support

We know the impacts of this pandemic will be felt in Aotearoa and our communities for a while yet. So, we are looking ahead to the future, and for Te Mana, it’s about being able to continue supporting those in immediate need effectively, while implementing a sustainable longer-term strategy to support whānau.

As we move down an Alert Level today, we will be ramping up efforts to ensure Ngāti Rangitihi whānau across Aotearoa have access to the range of essential support services available at a national and regional level.

Our team of Trustees, staff and volunteers throughout Aotearoa have strong knowledge of what official Government support is available in the different regions and can facilitate your access to these, so we encourage you to contact us. These services include for example, health advice, mental health or addiction support, family services, accommodation support, and more.

You can contact us in the following ways:

Te Mana support is still available to those who are not eligible for other services. Please get in touch with us using the contact details above so we can work through your individual needs.

A reminder also, if you haven’t already, to please fill out the following survey that has been created by the Ngāti Rangitihi Covid-19 response team, in conjunction with Te Mana o Ngāti Rangitihi Trust, to gather information about how our people are affected by COVID-19, and so that we can identify and analyse the immediate and longer-term needs of our iwi members. The survey closes on Friday 1 May and only takes a few minutes to complete. Click here to fill out the survey.

Over the coming days and weeks, we will be sharing more information on support services available by agencies across Aotearoa. Continue to follow our official channels for all information on our COVID-19 Response for Ngāti Rangitihi:

All information will be provided on these platforms as your main source of information relating to Ngāti Rangtihi.

In the meantime, I would like to share a video for you to watch featuring Te Mana Trustee, Tia Warbrick, who talks to us about life in her Ngāti Rangitihi bubble, and how Te Mana is supporting whānau now and into the future. Click here to view the video.

Let’s continue to be united in our efforts to fight COVID-19. Stay connected with us, reach out if you need help, and stay safe.

Mauri ora!

Leith Comer
Chairman, Te Mana o Ngāti Rangitihi Trust