Keep the Kingi Warena Whanau in their Home

Show that we can all do something about housing affordability in NZ by keeping a family who've given much to others in their home. Your donation goes toward the house deposit and expenses associated with buying the house.

The Kingi-Warena whanau rent a home in Paekakariki but its owners now want to sell, and this family of eight have discovered they can’t afford to rent elsewhere in the village. Like many others in recent years they face having to leave our village. Raima Kingi has forgone paid work outside the village to devote energy to our community’s growth and health for decades. She and her whanau have worked tirelessly, particularly with our young people. We value their incredible community contribution, and we want to be able to retain them in the community.

Recently shortlisted for the 2016 Wellingtonian of the Year Award for her contribution to education, Raima Kingi is much loved at Paekakariki School, where her official role is teacher aide. In the 31 years she's lived in Paekakariki, Raima has been involved in almost every aspect of education.

Raima is a descendant of Te Arawa and Ngapuhi and lives with her partner Peter Warena and five of her six tamariki. All of them contribute greatly to our community. Raima believes children and adults should be able to defend themselves and remain calm under pressure and so runs a martial arts school with her whanau, teaching self-defence Combat Hapkido in the community. In her spare time, she coaches basketball. Raima and her whanau are dedicated to imparting Maoritanga to the village’s tamariki through kapa haka, waiata and te reo Maori, leading the school roopu which is active in the village in performance and hui. Raima also currently runs an after-school wananga and is an active contributor to the Paekakariki community garden at the school and efforts to feed our school children at breakfast and lunch.

Raima and her whanau inspire us. Their plight is symbolic of the bigger problem that we are tackling—things are getting harder for the elderly, the young and those who choose to contribute to their community to stay in their homes. We believe it is time to pay them back in a tangible way. If we can reverse this situation then we will show what is possible, and then keep building on that success. Help this family stay in the village they love and have given so much to and show that we can all make a difference.