Project Prima Volta Whānau Cyclone Gabrielle Support
16 February 2023
Te Matau-a-Māui is in crisis today.
Following reports from Project Prima Volta students and graduates of the shocking experiences of loss and trauma through the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle, we are asking for your support and contribution to help them recover the devastating effects for themselves and their families. Whole livelihoods and homes lost and families left struggling to survive.
The Festival Opera season of The Magic Flute is cancelled, but this is not nearly the worst of the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle. Following last years cancellation due to covid, we know this feeling and we can soldier on. But this certainty isn't shared by those in our extended PPV whānau who have lost everything.
Please enable us to support them in this critical way.
From Niamh Bentley - PPV Graduate, who was preparing to share singing the role of Queen of the Night in Festival opera's 'The Magic Flute' due to premiere Tuesday 14th, the same day her family lost everything
"I honestly don’t even know where to start, it’s quite hard to put into an email.
Me and my family alone with my neighbours and their babies swam to high ground as our houses and animals have been completely wiped out from the Puketapu and Fernhill river overflowing the banks and hitting us from both ways.
Even though we have lost essentially everything, watching powerless as our animals were drowning in the flooding, we are incredibly lucky to be alive. This all happened yesterday morning (Tuesday) and were forced to intrude on a neighbours home nearby up the hill. Today though, we walked across the hills and swam across the river to safety in Hastings, where mum was able to access a car to get us to accomodation for the next 2 days in Havelock North, but not sure what we will do after"
And there are others, whom we cannot contact, but we know have needed to be evacuated from their properties and have lost everything, needing to be airlifted from the roof of their homes.
Please help these PPV students if you can, and we will make sure they receive your generous help.
