Lilly steps in where angels fear to tread
‘‘‘I had to do something so I didn’t feel useless’’
In the chaos of the last few days there have been selfless acts of humanity.
Lilly’s Mobile Boutique Catering owner Larina Tiffen is organising a raft of these acts from Rangiora.
Tiffen was offered space on seven helicopters flying to Kaikoura to rescue tourists stuck in the now isolated seaside town.
Kaikoura was severely damaged in Monday morning’s massive earthquake and then hammered by a tsunami
People in the region were without water and some without power and reception, leaving many in a desperate situation.
The helicopters would be empty on the flight up, so Tiffen asked if it would be possible to use the space to send food donations.
She could not confirm which helicopter company yet, as they did not want to put people at risk delivering straight to their hanger.
Tiffen was storing the donations at her house until she and those helping her could sort the items to be flown up.
After posting to Facebook seeking food to send, Tiffen said it ‘‘went viral’’ and was shared more than 500 times.
Tiffen was in communication with Takahanga Marae and friends in Kaikoura, to secure what the township needed most.
Her friend Trish Jellyman, whose house was badly damaged in the quakes, was using a horse and float to cart supplies around the town. ‘‘She’s my little angel up there .’’
Rachael Freeman, of Rangiora, was the first to donate items, dropping off a box of supplies for a young family.
She said it was important to show her two children that when people were ‘‘worse off than you’’ you needed to step up and help.
Tiffen’s phone had been ringing since 5am Tuesday morning with offers of donations. ‘‘I had to do something so I didn’t feel useless,’’ she said.
She and others working on sorting the supplies said they thought around 150 vehicles worth of food and other necessities had been donated so far.
‘‘We’re such a little community and we have such amazing community spirit.’’
Food had come from community groups, schools, women’s institutes and a large donation of toilet paper from Pak n’ Save.
Tiffen said it could take some time to finish ferrying all of those stranded in Kaikoura, so she thought there was an opportunity to send plenty of supplies.