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Download AudioA kaumātua of a cyclone-devastated community in Hawke’s Bay has praised the way all ethnicities and communities are pitching in to help clean up.
Joe Te Rito from Omahu says people in the community live in fear every time it rains, and whānau are questioning whether they should fix yellow-stickered homes or move the community, with the top of Puketapu-Fern Hill being one option.
Omahu Marae is serving as a hub for relief efforts and supplies.
Many people Māori and non-Māori are coming for meals and support, with cooked kai being provided by the Sikh community, Craggy Range Vineyards and others.
“If there’s any silver lining to this it’s the bonding of our own whānau, but also the bonding of our races. You know this bodes well for race relations in Hawke’s Bay, if not New Zealand,” Dr Te Rito says.
Yesterday the community walked the roads and held a special horohoro tapu karakia to whakawātea or clear the tapu from koiwi dragged out of urupāa by the floods.
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