Māori mobilise to survive
Faced with joblessness, mental health struggles and Covid-19, many Ma¯ori communities have drawn up their own responses, with or without government help. Carmen Parahi reports.
What matters the most to Zack Makoare? It’s manaakitanga. The little things being done by people serving others in their community.
The little things Makoare has done around Flaxmere, Hastings, during the lockdown include delivering fresh produce to impoverished wha¯ nau, running a Facebook video competition for rangatahi and supporting grieving families dealing with suicide.
Two Hawke’s Bay families affected by suicide during the lockdown have reached out for help. Both cases involve Ma¯ ori men in their 20s.
‘‘I’m just giving them hope and coping strategies to help them,’’ Makoare says.
He is worried about the mental wellbeing of 20-somethings during the lockdown and economic downturn.
He believes they’ve been forgotten in the Covid-19 response. There isn’t consistent national messaging by rangatahi for rangatahi to provide them with coping mechanisms.
Makoare lost his 15-year old son to suicide 20 years ago.
From the grief, he and his wha¯ nau started Te Taitimu Trust in 2007. The trust, based in Flaxmere, has helped around 3000 families over the years, mainly people living in highly deprived neighbourhoods in Hawke’s Bay.
‘‘Our young ones just need confidence,’’ says Makoare.
The kids have been taught basic life skills such as how to gather kaimoana safely, be water safe, and bush and mountain craft. Many have learnt how to grow their own food and work in gardens.
All participants are reconnected to local marae, where they are taught service by making cups of teas, scrubbing toilets, cooking and cleaning.
‘‘Not everyone has to be out the front doing the whaiko¯ rero on the paepae. You can serve your people at the back of the marae too,’’ says Makoare.
The skills they’ve learned will help them cope during the pandemic and when the looming recession starts to bite, he says. A former freezing worker, Makoare has experienced first hand how communities can be devastated by mass job losses.
He’s encouraging people to talk to each other, reach out on social media and call a helpline if they’re struggling. Get in the garden and grow vegetables, or prepare it for planting later. Take brisk walks or exercise. Learn to cook and make meals.
‘‘These are all good strategies to cope,’’ he says. ‘‘Even a random phone call to a friend, aunty or nanny will help stimulate the mind and it doesn’t disturb the bubble.’’
A heavy burden
Ma¯ ori have borne the brunt of introduced diseases, deprivation and economic loss since the arrival of Captain Cook in 1769.
A large proportion of Ma¯ ori currently live in highly deprived neighbourhoods or rurally, where access to good healthcare, resources and education can be limited because of poverty. Ma¯ ori suffer disproportionately from a range of health conditions.
These factors put them at greater risk of not only struggling with Covid-19 if it breaks out in the community, but also of suffering more harm from the impact of an economic slump.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said the Government has been particularly mindful of tailoring its public health and business packages specifically for Ma¯ ori and Pacific communities, including targeted funding.
But across the country, iwi, health and community organisations have made big and small decisions with or without government support to defend their areas from community outbreak and to assist their people in hardship.
No-one is under any illusion the pandemic will end after the lockdown and many are preparing to support their people for the long term.
Iwi, many with statutory authority in their regions, issued specific guidelines using ra¯ hui as a means of protection. This includes shutting marae, how tangihanga are conducted, closing forests and waterways from being used, and travellers being stopped from entering communities.
A combined effort by general and Ma¯ ori health organisations, district health boards and iwi has set up urban and rural testing stations targeting Ma¯ ori communities. Nurses will visit people in their homes to test for Covid-19 and provide health checks for existing conditions.
Ma¯ ori broadcasters such as Te Hiku TV and iwi radio stations have been providing important national and local updates to their communities. Ma¯ ori Television is running educational teaching programmes on its Te Reo channel for 10 weeks.
Multiple groups have teamed up with suppliers to make thousands of food and care packages, delivering to those who need them. Iwi and Ma¯ ori family trusts have been able to offer small cash grants to help, particularly for kauma¯ tua.
Makoare approached Brownrigg Agriculture in Te Hauke, where some of his rangatahi have previously done weeding work, asking them for a koha (gift) for the community.
The business offered 150 bags of onions and squash that Makoare and his team delivered to households. Brownrigg will give more produce this week so the trust will be out again.
Many small organisations like his are digging in to help, Makoare says. ‘‘Every little bit of help really matters.’’
‘With Ma¯ ori, for Ma¯ ori’
The Auckland Emergency Management (AEM) response to Covid-19 has introduced a Ma¯ orispecific function. Pouwhakarae has been called ‘‘a response tailored with Ma¯ ori, for Ma¯ ori’’. It was modelled on Ma¯ ori-led responses during last year’s Whakaari/White Island eruption and the Kaiko¯ ura earthquake in 2016.
Many iwi have set up specific Covid-19 response plans, put them into action on the ground