Some needy families in the Far North town of Kaikohe are in for a surprise - Christmas is coming early.
St Vincent de Paul staff with the donated goods Photo: Supplied
The idea "no child should go without Christmas" inspired three women to start a Christmas hamper drive.
Karen Kākā works at Te Rūnanga-Ā-Iwi O Ngāpuhi and one day a mother walked into reception, desperate with no place to live, asking for help.
"What really got me going was this family came in and desperately needed somewhere to live and didn't have any money and I thought, if that's one person that has come in to see us, I wonder how many people [are] out there that won't have Christmas this year."
Ms Kākā approached businesses and community groups in Kaikohe hoping to help 10 families but the organisation has received enough donations to be able to help 40 families.
People didn't hesitate to give, leading to a response that overwhelmed Ms Kākā.
Most donations were food but they also included toys.
The unemployment rate of Māori aged 15 years and over in Northland is 19.8 percent, compared with 15.6 percent for the Māori population nationwide.
The median income in the region for Māori is $19,100, compared with $22,500 for all Māori.
Just over 52 percent of Northland Māori have an annual income of $20,000 or less, compared with the national figure of just over 46 percent.
"There would've been a few families that wouldn't of been able to have Christmas this year, some of them just didn't have the income or enough income, and some don't even have whanau to help them so it was going to be really hard on some of our families this year," Ms Kākā said.
She approached local social workers to identify needy whanau, who will be delivered the hampers tomorrow.
"They don't know, we'll finish packing today and the social workers will deliver them tomorrow."
With four more sleeps to go until Christmas Day, tomorrow some Kaikohe whanau will get an early Christmas gift.
