Whānau in Wairoa are building their financial capability and working towards home ownership after spending nearly two years without permanent housing.
Fourteen whānau whose homes were destroyed or severely damaged during Cyclone Gabrielle are taking part in a five-week home-ownership programme facilitated by Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa. The initiative is designed to help families living in temporary housing pods gain financial literacy skills and explore options to turn their temporary accommodation into a long-term asset.
Caroline Karekare is one of the participants. She says buying her pod would help ease overcrowding for her extended whānau.
“I need an extra room on our property at the moment, because currently our property is only a two-bedroom home.
“During Cyclone Gabrielle, we ended up staying at my sister’s place. So it was me, my brother, his wife, my mum and our families. So, there were 12 of us — that was overcrowding living in one house.”
Another participant, Trevor Mihaere, has been living in his pod for two years. He says owning it would be a major achievement.
“They’re safe, they’re secure, they’re the best. Some of these pods, how some of the whānau were living before — these are better homes than what we had before.”
Shared ownership pathway
The Te Puni Kōkiri programme, Sorted Kāinga Ora, focuses on building whānau financial capability through budgeting, understanding mortgages and navigating home-ownership pathways.
The initiative is delivered in partnership with Kāenga Hou, a kaupapa Māori, not-for-profit housing provider that supports whānau into shared-ownership arrangements — purchasing the property and allowing whānau to buy out their share over 10–15 years.
Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa chief executive Lewis Ratapu says the programme is helping families realise home ownership may be within reach.
“It’s reasonably affordable here, if you’ve got a good job. That is the problem — we don’t have jobs that are high-paying, so our weekly average income is quite low. But it’s enough that you can afford a loan, so if it’s only a $370,000 mortgage and they’re paying $500 a week for a three-bedroom, then it’s achievable.
“They don’t know until they’ve gone through the course that they realise what they’re paying in rent now could cover a home mortgage.”
Mihaere says the option to buy his pod on his whānau land is motivating him to pursue ownership.
“For me, coming back on your whenua — I was lucky. The storm put me back on this whenua. I was very lucky, I’m just grateful to be here.”
Karekare encourages others considering their first home to build their financial knowledge.
“I encourage everyone, especially first-time home owners, to do this programme. I’ve spoken to a few people who are looking at purchasing a home and I recommend that they do this course,” she says.
