Source / Peeni Henare MP Facebook
The opening of 10 new homes built for kaumātua and whānau in Te Muriwai in Tairāwhiti was celebrated on Saturday as whānau were presented with their new rural road addresses by Māori Housing Minister Peeni Henare.
"Speaking with the whānau who receive these new homes we could hear the emotion," Henare wrote on social media over the weekend.
Photo / Facebook
Henare joined Ngāi Tāmanuhiri and the wider Toitū Tairāwhiti collective for the opening of the homes, which included a four one-bedroom unit kaumātua duplex, four-three-bedroom and two-four-bedroom homes for iwi whānau members.
“Ngāi Tāmanuhiri made a commitment to build 10 homes to support iwi members who were caught up in the housing crisis and living in unreasonable conditions,” Henare said in a statement.
“The four kaumātua moving into the duplex are either currently in social housing, need care or support from whānau in Te Muriwai, or are paying unaffordable market rents in Gisborne town. The duplex will be managed by a community housing provider and offered to kaumātua at a subsidised rent.
“Six whānau will be moving into the homes on a rent-to-buy agreement over 10 years. The whānau are currently living in overcrowded situations, in un-inhabitable dwellings such as garages or unsafe, unhealthy rental properties.
“These whare will give Ngāi Tāmanuhiri pakeke and whānau the ability to continue living in their rohe, to be close to their whānau and marae, to stay connected to their whenua, which is at the core of the Government’s Māori Housing strategy.”
Photo / Facebook
This sense of reconnection to community and whenua was backed-up by Tāmanuhiri Tūtū Poroporo Trust.
“For the whānau who move into the new homes, one of the contributing factors for success is that whānau become (or) remain active members of our local community. In return, the community of Te Muriwai look forward to welcoming these whānau home and embracing them in this journey of reconnection and home ownership,” said trust chairperson Pauline Hill.
Henare agreed with a speaker that it took bravery from the tribe and whānau to enter into a kaupapa that eventually saw new homes built on whenua in Te Muriwai.
