The Mangakino mother has been on a Te Arawa Whānau Ora plan with paeārahi, Leanne Karauna, for two years. And with 10 people taking refuge in the home during lockdown, Sapphire gratefully accepted Leanne’s offer of assistance through a Whānau Direct grant.
“Leanne’s been wonderful and has not only helped us, but other whānau as well,” says Sapphire.
“Over the last few days, she’s provided us with kai and blankets. My family was so happy to get the blankets because it’d been first-in-first-served with 10 people in the house. The kids are definitely much happier. The kai made a big difference too because there’s so many of us, but no-one can go to work because of the lockdown.”
Sapphire is now eagerly awaiting her new dryer to arrive tomorrow, which will help with the never-ending task of drying the large family’s laundry.
“My washing is ‘woah’. We can’t dry anything because of the wet weather, so we’ve got things hanging on the windows and all around the house. The kids make more washing than we can wash and dry,” she says with a laugh.
