Ahakoa te karawhiua mai ōna e te huripari, kua tuwhera anō ngā tatau o Te Kura ā-Rohe o Te Karaka, i Te Tairāwhiti.
I mate rā te kura ki te kati mō ētahi wiki nā te waipuketanga o te rohe, ā, i mate hoki ētahi whānau ki te puta i ō rātou ake kāinga ki te rapu kāinga anō.
Hei tā te kaiwhakahaere mō ngā ratonga hapori i Te Tairāwhiti, hei tā Joleen Perry, ‘He maha ngā whānau i whakatahi ki te puke e tata ana ki a rātou ka waipukehia ana te whenua, ā, kua whakapau kaha rātou i roto i ēnei wiki e rua ki te whakapaipai i ngā whare’. Hei tāna, i hoki ngā tamariki ki te kura i tērā wiki, ahakoa e whakamahia tonutia ana ētahi o ngā akomanga hei kāinga rua mō ētahi o ngā whānau e noho kāinga-kore ana.
E ai ki a Perry, he nui ngā takohatanga mai ki te hapori o Te Karaka, heoi, ko te wero ko te kimi i ētahi wāhi hei putu i ngā koha kia rite mai ai te hapori ki aua koha.
Hei āpiti atu ki tēnei, i whakamahia te kura hei whare Rākau Whakamarumaru, ā, kua aukatihia ētahi wāhanga o te kura mō ngā wiki e rua e heke mai nei e whai kāinga taupua ai ngā whānau e tatari ana kia hangā anō ō rātou ake whare.
Ahakoa ngā whakatara o te wā kua pā ki te hapori nei, he koanga ngākau te kite kua tuwhera anō ngā tatau o Te Kura ā-Rohe o Te Karaka, ā, e taea ana ngā tamariki te hoki ki ngā mahi ako. He tohu tēnei nō te manawanui me te kaha o te hapori, ahakoa te timu me te pari o te tai.
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ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Despite being hit hard by extreme weather, Te Karaka Area School in Te Tairāwhiti has reopened its doors.
The school had to close for several weeks due to floods in the area, and some families were forced to evacuate their homes and find temporary shelter.
Joleen Perry, who manages a social services agency in Te Tairāwhiti, said that, ‘Many residents had to evacuate to a nearby hill when the floods came through, and that much of the past two weeks has been spent cleaning up houses’. She said that tamariki returned to school last week even though some of the classrooms were still being used by displaced families.
Perry said that Te Karaka had received many donations, but that they were struggling to find places to store them all until they could be used.
She also said that the school had been the Civil Defence hub, and that some areas had been blocked off for the next couple of weeks while displaced families found somewhere temporarily to live while they rebuilt their homes.
Despite the challenges faced by the community, it is heartening to see that Te Karaka Area School has reopened, and that children can return to their studies. It is a testament to the resilience and strength of the community in the face of adversity.
