December 22, 2018
Christmas hand outs Whanau ora in action
Whānau Ora Minister Peeni Henare has commended the Auckland City Mission for teaming up with two south Auckland marae for its annual distribution of Christmas parcels.
Over the past two weeks more than 8000 parcels have been distributed from Ngā Whare Waatea, Papakura Marae and Eden Park, double what the charity gave out last year from its Hobson St headquarters.
That still hasn’t kept up with demand, with people queuing overnight at the venues.
Speaking at Ngā Whare Waatea, Mr Henare says it has made the service more accessible to the places with some of the highest need.
"It’s something about Mohamed and the mountain, sometimes it's easier to move the mountain. it might not necessarily be a permanent set up but we know our people come to places like this," he says.
Peeni Henare says the Christmas parcel distribution has highlighted the challenges that need to be tackled by Whānau Ora .
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