Hope and action

I’ve already shared some kōrero about the huge increase in parents reaching out directly to us for help (link is here if you missed that).

Recently, a lot of those parents and grandparents asking for a hand have mentioned they’ve been referred to us by their local food bank and other services because they can’t help.

There’s no call to action on that - it’s too late at night for me to think that clearly, this is just a reminder that when we cut funding for these services without addressing the root cause, the need doesn’t disappear - it just goes somewhere else... and we’re a small country.

For these parents trying to give their children something to smile about at Christmas, they’ve exhausted all the options they could find. We’ve all hit problems that feel unsolvable, but imagine how it feels when what you’re trying to solve is your son, daughter or grandchild seeing the advertising and marketing that has become Christmas, and wondering why they don’t get to take part.
Reaching out to strangers in their community is a last resort. As we get closer to Christmas, the anxiety for their children outweighs the anxiety about asking for help. Yesterday alone, there were more than 60 requests for help.
How we respond to these as strangers or neighbours defines what the world looks like to those in most need of hope. We exist to show our tamariki the world cares about them, but we parents need to see that sometimes too.

Speaking of hope, for those who have already put their hand up to help. Thank you. Thank you for ignoring the voices telling us the most important thing is me, not we, and remembering the village, kotahitanga, community and humanity that we’re all a part of. Thank you for reminding the rest of us.