By Six
Often, the people with the least are the people who give the most.
Debbie and her partner Troy say they struggle themselves, but that doesn’t stop them from offering a valuable social service not only to the people of Manurewa and South Auckland but also to the wider Auckland community.
“We have people coming in from Maraetai, Pukekohe and from over the North Shore and all over Auckland,” says Debbie.
Everything at Waka of Caring is free.
“We only need smiles,” says Debbie. If we don’t have what someone needs, we’ll find it for them.”
Since our visit in Season 2, I was hoping to hear good news stories about progress and success, but unfortunately, we are losing the war on the poor.
The good news is we have thousands of new recruits, with more than 40,000 more unemployed, joining welfare queues in recent months.
“I can see why more and more families are living together, says Debbie. It is the only way people can survive out in the real world.”
Waka of Caring not only provide household products and clothing, they also provide more than 250 food parcels per day.
One volunteer, Eddy, says the demand for food has at least doubled since he started working at the centre two years ago.
They ran out of food one day recently, so all the volunteers went home to bring what they could back.
Debbie says people might not have received a lot that day, but at least everyone went home with a meal.
The atmosphere at the drop-in centre is vibrant, and people can enjoy a coffee or cake or take time out playing games or watching TV. Waka of Caring has an almost marae-style atmosphere and is busy six days a week from 9 am – 6 pm.
However, their current home is not fit for purpose and has flooded on occasion. Debbie and Troy are currently searching for a new site for Waka of Caring.
Troy says one thing people always leave Waka of Caring with is hope.
Hopefully next time we hear from Debbie and Troy we will hear stories about success and reduced demand for ambulances at the bottom of the cliff.
You can see our first visit to Waka of Caring in this Season 2 episode of K’ Road Chronicles.
Produced by Magnetic Pictures for TP+
Marketing support from Woolworths NZ
Made with the support of NZ On Air
