Setting Our Kids Up to Live Their Best Lives
CEO’s Report
This is my first report as CEO of Kootuitui ki Papakura and marks one year since I joined the organisation.
In October 2021, mid lockdown, I walked into an empty school and met the rather fabulous Angela Gattung; there began a rather intense induction process for which I am very grateful!
COVID -19 Impact
What became apparent very early on was the impact of Covid-19 on the Papakura community. Families that were struggling to make ends meet before Covid-19 found themselves in relatively dire circumstances.
Kootuitui staff and volunteers were at the forefront of responding to this need providing support through our three strands Whaanau, Health & Education.
Papakura is a melting pot of people, culture and community spirit, but we also face some challenges that exacerbated the impact of the pandemic.
The Impact of The Pandemic
Our Whaanau
- The average daily indoor temperature in the winter for most New Zealand houses is just 16°C. If house temperatures fall below 16°C, the risk of respiratory illness increases.
- Children growing up in Papakura are three times more likely to live in cold damp mouldy living conditions.
- Papakura residents are 33% less likely to own their own homes and twice as likely to live in overcrowded conditions.
Our Health
- Papakura East is in the highest 1% of Census areas for childhood hospitalisations potentially attributable to
housing. - Inequitable access to primary care – 46% of school-age children haven’t visited their GP in the last year.
- Pacifika children are 75 times more likely to contract rheumatic fever – a disease that has been successfully eliminated in most first-world countries.
Our Education
- Students in South Auckland are twice as likely to leave school without any qualifications compared to the Auckland/New Zealand average.
- In the Auckland region, approximately 7% of school leavers graduate with less
than their NCEA level 1; however, in South Auckland, the figure is 17.6%. - After the 2021 lockdown in NCEA, achievement rates for high decile schools remained static or improved conversely, achievement rates in Papakura declined
significantly.
Kootuitui Initiatives
- Due Drop
- Foundation North
- Middlemore Foundation
- Generous Individuals/Family Trusts
As the title suggests, urgent support was provided to 1615 individuals (inc 752 children).
Relief was provided in the following forms:
- 214 utility bills paid.
- 608 shopping vouchers, food parcels and other groceries distributed.
- 194 Hygiene checks.
- 52 taxis to attend vaccinations and doctor appointments.
Rapid Relief Food Boxes
- Rapid Relief
In partnership with Rapid Relief, Kootuitui has received and distributed 1683 rapid relief food boxes.
Akonga Engagement
- Ministry of Education
Kootuitui was contracted to engage with hard-to-reach families and children who have disengaged from education during the 2021 lockdown.
Kootuitui provided support to these families in 3 ways:
1. Whaanau to whaanau support, advice and intervention by phone and face to face.
2. Support removing financial barriers to re-engagement in education.
3. Connecting Whaanau to local and naturalised supports and community organisations to provide a hand-up approach to achieving resilience.
Street Chats
- Counties Manukau Health
Kootuitui Street Chats team held events in areas and venues that were identified as hard to reach and where residents expressed uncertainty and hesitancy regarding either receiving the vaccine or subsequent booster shots.
Community Connection Services
- Ministry of Social Development
Families in isolation or impacted by Covid-19 are referred to Kootuitui by MSD, local schools and the community, providing support in the following areas:
- Customised groceries.
- Medical & prescription fees.
- Face masks, RAT tests & hand sanitizers.
- Utility and rent arrears.
- Household items.
- Blankets, bedding, heaters, hot water bottles.
- Transportation & delivery costs.
- Education or activity packs.
- Referral to domestic violence, mental health, jobs & training support organisations.
- Ministry of Social Development
- New Zealand Food Network
Kootuitui was awarded a grant to establish a food hub, receive and distribute food from the New Zealand Food Network to families in need living within Papakura and surrounding areas.
Wahine Toa
- Te Puni Kokiri
- Nga Tamaoho Trust
- Manatū Wāhine
- Ministry of Education
- Ministry of Social Development
The Kōhine Māori project brought together the voices of kōhine Māori who were disengaged from school.
Two waananga were held with the Kōhine Māori to capture their insights on the impact of Covid-19 on their day-to-day lives.
Subsequent to the waananga Kootuitui has made recommendations to Te Puni Kōkiri and Manatū Wāhine for a service solution that supports kōhine to transition from school to work of further education.
Kootuitui Connect Waananga
- Te Puni Kokiri
Waananga were based around the Maori framework ‘Whare Tapa Wha’ – the framework supported holistic reflection around family and individual well-being.
Whare Tapa Wha provided the platform to ensure a Maori-led framework guided conversations, strategies and future solutions.
During the pandemic, many of our normal business-as-usual activities could not continue. Staff and volunteers across all our Strands were diverted to respond to the immediate needs of our community.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Kootuitui team for working so tirelessly and flexibly during such a difficult time. I would also like to thank the Board of Trustees and our Principal Convenor for the support and guidance they have provided me during my first year with the Trust.
Importantly, I would like to acknowledge the significant contribution the late, great Grant Barnes made to the Trust since its inception and, more recently to me. Attending his memorial was a humbling reminder of what can be achieved with dedication, passion and the odd glass of red!
The year ahead holds several exciting projects, including a collaboration with Mercury Energy, Food Stuff and Kootuitui’s Warm Dry Homes initiative and the launch of the Kohine Toa service.
I look forward to providing our sponsors with updates during the coming year as these initiatives come to fruition.
"He whakatauki Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, ēngari taku toa he toa takatini"
"Success is not the work of one but the work of many"
Our Supporters
We benefit from the support of funders, partners and community organisations, and the commitment of the schools’ boards, leaders, teachers and staff.
