E rima ngā whare haumaru hou kua whakatūwherahia e Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Mutunga me Ka Ururoa i te rā, hei whare whakaruruhau mā ngā whānau o te iwi.
“Ko ngā kaupapa pēnei te whakatū whare, ki a hoki mai ngā whānau ki roto i ngā rohe o rātou iwi ki a rongo ai rātou i te maori me te wairua o Urenui nei,” e ai ki te heamana o Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Mutunga, a Jamie Tuuta.
“He hua i a Ka Uruora mō te taha ki te pūtea, nō reira koira tētahi whainga nui nā te mea ko te ora o te hapū me te iwi ko te oranga o te whānau,” e ai anō ki a Jaime.
“Ki au nei ko te kaupapa o Ka Uruora tetahi kaupapa rangatira mō ngā iwi, he rerekē nē, nā te mea kei te titiro tēnei kaupapa ki te ora o te whānau a pūtea, a mōni.”
A new beginning: Ngāti Mutunga whānau set to move into affordable rental homes
The dreams of five Ngāti Mutunga whānau have been realised with the opening of new affordable rental homes in Urenui, a partnership between Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Mutunga and Ka Uruora.
One of the first tenants, Te Kiriahi Raumati, is moving back to her ancestral rohe after many years away. For her, the experience is deeply personal and spiritual.
“I haven’t been home for many years since my kui died and I happened too, I did the Ka Uruora financial literacy course and they were just starting this building,” Te Kiriahi said,
“Incredible, incredible. Every house I’ve lived in, I’ve always had to spend the first two days cleaning ’cause always dirty, they just feel really dark a lot of them… so to be welcomed into whare that’s built in te ao Māori it’s a different feeling,” she said.
Te Waka McLeod, a kaimahi for Ka Uruora, highlighted the unique approach of the housing kaupapa.
“Ka Uruora provides an opportunity for the whānau to be cared for as they go through the rental process, so these whare are affordable rentals and not only is it a normal rental set up but there’s a wrap around manaakitanga within that,” Te Waka said.
“This is a stepping stone for them so it’s not their forever home. But, this is a stepping stone for them to be able to achieve maybe a home that they may own forever,” she said.