St Joseph’s Māori Girls College has nurtured generations of Māori women but in the past week has become a place of refuge for flood victims in Hawke's Bay.
Valentine’s Day this year saw one of the worst natural disasters in Hawkes Bay’s history and Hato Hohepa was there with open arms for those affected in the suburb of Taradale.
“On Tuesday night we had 150 RSE workers come in just to have a kai, and then they all got moved on to one of the churches in Maraenui," school board chair Morehu Te Tomo says.
"So there were a lot of lessons on how do we manaaki even just for a kai. Some people came here frozen, and the ruling was to not have hot showers. But we had to give people hot showers; otherwise they could have got sick.”
Kura lends a helping hand.
750 flood victims
More than 750 people have arrived at the gates of the school in the past week, many shell-shocked and left with nothing.
Nurses and many of the school's old girls helped the school to assist all those staying within the walls. Local district nurse Melodie Ottley says some of the families have lost everything, "so getting some pastoral care and support in here would be massive.”
The evacuees, mostly elderly, were encouraged to go to Hato Hōhepa, as the cyclone passed the region. But two of those people still at the kura are keeping their cool. The 82 and 94-year-olds say they are very experienced in a lifestyle similar to this.
“We did a lot of camping, so we relate it back to that staying here.”
On Tuesday morning the school was still running as per usual, Te Tomo says, but through the values which lay at the foundation of the school, what needed to be done was done.
“As our tumuaki Georgina would always promote, it's manaaki, manaakitanga. So she called on all of her helpers from outside to come in to start doing the tea, the cooking and all of that.”
The school is still an operational kura but the damage the cyclone has left is more than physical for some of the students.
Year 13 student Huria Lloyd says although it was a traumatic experience she and her peers still look to offer those values they are taught during their time at school.
“To be honest< it’s actually been very scary but we try not to show it, especially when we’re helping everyone," Lloyd says.
She also sends a message of love to her whānau, whom she can't contact, with power still being out across Napier and little to no phone service for many residents.
Lloyd says, “We definitely miss you a lot more now that there is no contact with you but we’re safe and we’re dry.”
