Isolating students sent care packages thanks to partnership between local iwi and polytechnic
Monday, 28 March 2022
WelTec has teamed up with Te Rūnanganui o Te Āti Awa to deliver care and kai packages to students isolating with Covid-19.
Tylah Buckton-Pereira from Wainuiomata and Te Ao ‘Tee’ Herbert-Te Awa from Lower Hutt, are first year students at Weltec, studying a level three certificate in collision repair and automotive refinishing in hopes of landing better jobs, and have been recipients of these care packages.
Herbert-Te Awa is a solo mother to a four-year-old daughter. So isolating became a little tricky when her and her daughter tested positive for Covid-19.
“When I got Covid, not only did I have to stay away from my work at the supermarket in Upper Hutt, which meant I didn't get paid, but I couldn’t go out and get food for us,” she said.
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“So it was a big relief when WelTec got in touch to say they had groceries for us. We had something to eat, and I could save the money I had for rent and utility bills.”
Buckton-Pereira, who works at Countdown, said it was hugely helpful for her and her whānau while she was isolating.
“I appreciated the health and hygiene items the most and the best thing was the tissues - it was a lifesaver as Covid was awful for me, having all the symptoms at once and difficult to deal with,” she said.
Weltec receives a list of students isolating, then contacts them to find out how they are and whether they require kai or hygiene items for themselves or the whānau they live with.
The packs include breakfast, lunch and dinner items such as Weetbix, tinned soups, spaghetti, dry pasta, sauce, as well as hygiene products like shampoo, washing powder, tissues, and rapid antigen tests.
The packs also included a letter from WelTec chief executive Mark Oldershaw wishing students well and reassuring them that their place on their chosen course of study will be available to them once they have recovered.
Hinemoa Priest, Kaiwhakahaere Māori at WelTec, said the packs initially started “as a result of seeing, first-hand, the impact of Covid-19 was having on our ākonga (students) and their whānau.”
Weltec has also received laptops via Te Rūnanganui o Te Āti Awa. This has enabled five students who have no device at home to take part in online learning.