Support the Ruka whanau who lost everything in the Wellington floods 💔

At 3am on Monday 20th of April Tanya woke her girls, readying them to evacuate, knowing their low lying rented Berhampore home was vulnerable to flooding. Tanya went to retrieve the car (which was moving down the street) and returned to the house moments later just as the kitchen floor erupted with a violent upswell of water. The flood water rose to above waist height within minutes, as the girls scrambled to rescue their terrified pets, and Tanya scrambled to rescue her terrified girls. She pulled her youngest out through the shrinking gap in the front door just in time.

Miraculously, humans and pets made it to the car and to higher ground, where they sat in their drenched and muddy clothes for two hours, waiting for the river that was Adelaide road to subside. They were safe, but they lost all their belongings to the floodwaters.

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Tanya is an incredible Wāhine toa and independent Māmā to her beautiful girls. She brings Aroha to all in her orbit: her students, whanau, iwi (Ngati Pakau, Te Uriroroi, Te Parawhau, Te Mahurehure Ngapuhi, and Waitaha) as well as Indigenous Nations around the world through her mahi.

Tanya is humble, she doesn't like the limelight (you won't find their story on RNZ!), and prefers to give support rather than ask for it, but now she needs our help. Let's repay the kindness she gives out every day! 🩵

Tanya has limited contents insurance - not nearly enough to cover what was lost. Tanya is not receiving monetary support from WCC or any charity