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A big day for the far north's He Korowai Trust.
It officially opened the papakianga it has built on the outskirts of Kaitaia by refurbishing former state homes trucked up from Glen Innes.
Manager Ricky Houghton says the development has allowed families to move from condemned houses, sheds and buses into their own homes, where for $250 a week they will get meat, milk, eggs, as well as an early childhood centre, healthcare, and budgeting advice.
"What people are going to see today is what can truly happen if you make whanau a priority. That is the key to the whole thing and we are so blessed they have trusted us to come and work with us so we can help them move to where they need to be to improve the quality of their life, so we are so happy about that," he says.
Ricky Houghton says the He Korowai Trust also opened its headquarters in the former Kaitaia Hotel, which includes 35 rooms for emergency accommodation, and the sod was also turned for the building of a men's refuge.
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