Whare Manaaki - Some heartfelt warmth during the big chill
Renowned for her kind community gestures, long-time Queenstown nurse and mum of six Debbie Swain-Rewi and her Engage Safety staff have teamed up with Kaizen to warm the hearts and tummies of struggling Queenstown workers living in cars.
They’re opening the Engage Safety building at 18 Glenda Drive each week this winter offering free hot showers, internet, soup and toast, a warm cuppa and lots of love.
‘Whare Manaaki’ (A Welcoming House) launches on site this week, open Thursdays and Fridays from 3pm until 7pm, and Saturdays 12pm until 7pm, for winter.
“It’s just the right thing to do,” says Debbie. “We’re kaupapa Maori and this is what manaakitanga is all about, being welcomed and cared for.”
Living in Queenstown with husband Darren, a local kaumatua, and their family, for 32 years, Debbie says the age-old problem of housing is clearly “worse than it’s ever been”. “Things are genuinely not good out there,” she says. “I have a social conscience and so does my team. It’s a culture I try to build into our staff, our kaupapa.”
Kaizen, a logistics company with a similar social ethos, is collaborating with Engage Safety on the project and staff from both companies will take turns at being on hand to help. “Kaizen approached us and wanted to build a similar social conscience in their team. They now have a requirement for some community service written into their staff employment contracts.”
In addition to hot soup Debbie says she will offer macaroni cheese this Thursday to kick things off with plenty of pizzas ready in the freezer if they’re inundated. “It’s all ready to go. We just have to heat it up and go.” People will also be able to take their laptops into the boardroom and access the internet.
She has no idea how many people, if any, will turn up at the Glenda Drive Whare Manaaki. “I don’t know who’s out there,” she says.
An offer of a helping hand to one young man sleeping in a car recently, who was so immensely grateful, moved her mother’s heart. “I just thought, if my kids, my whanau, were sleeping in a car in a foreign country in winter I’d hope somebody would do something nice for them,” says Debbie.
She already operates regular kai parcels from Glenda Drive for those in need, has done since the Covid lockdowns, and she and her team offered free cooked breakfasts and soup kitchens last year. They’re hoping to re-introduce the cooked breakfasts at Whare Manaaki, all out of the business and personal coffers.
“We’re just so lucky and people are totally desperate out there,” she says.
Any food donations dropped to Engage Safety would be greatly appreciated, and supermarkets may want to join forces to help, she says.
If anybody wants to donate to Whare Manaaki they can phone: 03 4423682 or email: admin@engagesafety.co.nz
Financial donations will go through Te Whare Hauora ki Tahuna Trust, which is working alongside Engage Safety to develop a Hauora (wellbeing) hub, offering a holistic approach to supported health and social services.
Whare Kanaaki’s drop-in sessions won’t be held next week (July 13 on) due to a busy Thursday for staff celebrating Matariki and the Matariki public holiday next Friday, but the team will be back in gear from Thursday, July 20.
