The effects of Cyclone Gabrielle resulted in our Family Works Tairāwhiti team losing all communication with Hawke’s Bay teams. A few days after the cyclone some communication was restored and Te Whare o Te Pā Harakeke building was able to open. The dedicated team contacted clients for welfare checks and supported Tairāwhiti SuperGrans with unloading trucks and packing food parcels. Tauawhi Men’s Centre was open and continued to support men and whānau. Tauawhi Men’s Centre actively supported community volunteers in Te Karaka and other community groups.
An update from Caroline Thompson, Service Manager, Family Works Tairāwhiti
“Our kaimahi who are based in Gisborne are thankful that our homes and whānau are safe and that the return of power and internet happened within a week of the cyclone. We are the lucky ones in that we have been able to return to a sense of normality. The impact of the cyclone in rural areas of Tairāwhiti especially in Te Karaka and Tokomaru Bay, other coast communities, and recent flooding in Gisborne has been upsetting and traumatic for many who have lost homes or continue to be isolated. We are a small close-knit community here in Tairāwhiti and deeply feel the mamae and pouri of our whānau and friends who have been affected. Full acknowledgement must go to our Tairāwhiti SuperGrans team, TROTAK, TRONP, GDC Civil Defence, and community groups who have co-ordinated a mammoth emergency response here in Tairāwhiti. We are grateful for the opportunity to be able to volunteer and to work alongside many other volunteers in a time of crisis. Our prayers and our hearts go out to all the whānau who have been affected in Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti.
Kia ngākau tapa tahi te mahi tahi o te katoa I runga I te whakaaro kotahi
Everyone working together with one heart and one purpose in mind“
