Post Covid - A silver lining

Queenstown and Wānaka are two of the least diverse towns in New Zealand, so when Covid hit in 2020 the local Māori population found themselves unsupported, with suicides and significant hardship showing steep increases.

But local Ngāi Tahu kaumatua Darren Rewi, and his wife Debbie Swain-Rewi, used the pandemic as a catalyst to launch powerful new welfare initiatives that have continued post Covid and changed the cultural landscape of the Southern Lakes.

Darren and Debbie's guiding principle: Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi  - with your basket and my basket the people will thrive.

Researched and directed by Peta Carey, produced for Crux by Dave Gibson and Toby Crawford with funding from NZ On Air.