E 72 tau te pakeke o Nanny Te Okeroa Wheeler kua 20 tau neke atu e noho ana i te tonga o Tāmaki Makaurau. E rima tau ki muri ka tīmata tana whāngai i ngā whānau rawakore, ā i te rangi nei, koni atu i te 1600 tāngata i rongo i te tāwara o te kai. Ko ia te kaihautū o te kaupapa koha kai a Ngā Whare Waatea.
“I love it, you know, support the communities of South Auckland.”
Mo ngā rā e waru a Nanny Te Okeroa me tōna ope tūao e tohatoha ana i te rua rau pouaka kai, taputapu, pērā i te perehana kirihimete.
E hia nei ngā rau tāngata kua whakarārangi atu ki te marae ki te whiwhi pouaka kai i mua i te rā Kirihimete. Ko te whai a te Mīhana o Tāmaki, he tuari i ngā pouaka 10,000 ki ngā whānau 50,000.
“Most probably do 250 or close to 300 cos it's our last day and we've got a busy afternoon.”
Ko Taroi Black o Te Ao Māori rāua ko Nanny Te Okeroa rātou ko ngā kaimahi i Ngā Whare Waatea Marae.
I ako a Nanny Te Okeroa ki te manaaki tangata hei ringawera i Waahi Pā. I reira, i mahi ia mā Kahurangi Te Arikinui Te Atairangikaahu i te wharekai, he whāngai i ngā tini manuhiri. Nā konā i takoto ai te tūāpapa ki a Te Okeroa ki tēnei kaupapa.
“City Mission has been fabulous supporting us with all the food parcels and even Kiwi Harvest we've got a relationship with them which we've had for two years.
I te putanga o te pātai a Te Ao Māori ki a Te Okeroa mō te aha kei tua i a ia anamata nei?
“I'll be here for the next Christmas, I'll be around for a while.”