Source: Radio New Zealand
Kōkiri Marae Sexual & Reproductive Health Promoter/Educator Shelley Duffin (left). Supplied
A Wellington Marae is adding period care products to its Christmas kai parcels this year as the cost-of-living crisis deepens forcing more people into period poverty.
Kōkiri Marae in the Lower Hutt suburb of Seaview has worked with Dignity since 2022 to include pads, tampons, and reusable options in its parcels.
Dignity CEO Lisa Maathuis said they work with over 250 different community partners across Aotearoa with Kōkiri being one of the biggest gifting partners, gifting about two and half thousand boxes of period products across three years.
“The benefit of working with places like Kōkiri Marae and our other partners is that they have such incredible relationships with their community and understand their community so well. So it means that when they are distributing the period products, it’s really delivered as an act of manaakitanga and it ensures that the period products are given with dignity and respect and that people have access to period products and don’t miss out on any opportunities in life.”
Dignity’s “buy one, give one” model involves partnering with corporate orgnisations who buy a certain ammount of boxes half of which go to their employees while the other half is gifted on their behalf to community orginisations.
Kōkiri’s Pātaka Kai has seen consistently high demand since opening in 2019, and Sexual & Reproductive Health Promoter/Educator Shelley Duffin said rising living costs are pushing more working families to seek help.
“We have always supported a broad range of whanau, but are increasingly aware that more working families are being forced to make incredibly tough choices. People are going without essentials like period products because there’s simply nothing left in the budget,” she said.
Duffin says they expect to distribute more than 700 kai parcels in the weeks leading up to Christmas, and the inclusion of period care makes a tangible difference.
“One woman we worked with had three daughters, plus she was helping one of their friends. When we asked whether anyone needed period products, she chose the reusable options. Later, she told us she’d been cutting up old towels to get by. That’s the reality for many whānau.”
Dignity CEO Lisa Maathuis. Supplied/Yvonne Liew Photography
Maathuis said the holiday period can be tough for younger wāhine especially, who won’t have access to period products provided in schools.
“Generally with poverty and not just period poverty, it’s definitely harder during the holidays because people are really prioritising essentials for children and leaving, you know, some of their own needs behind. And I think people want to, regardless of what situation you’re in, during the holidays you do still want to make it a special time for your family. And so that can mean that sometimes people are prioritising food over period products.”
Maathuis said there has been an increase in demmand for Dignity’s services, currently they are actively supporting around 60 different community organisations
“We get probably two or three applications per week to join and to get those gifted period products that go onto our waitlist. And our waitlist is currently about 150. So we’ve seen a huge increase in demand, and it’s something that we haven’t been able to keep up with yet because we need to bring on new corporate partners onto our buy one, give one model at the same rate.”
Maathuis said another way to alleviate period poverty is by working to lift the stigma sorrounding it and Dignity is collaborating with Qiane Matata-Sipu, author of My First Ikura, to help do that. https://www.rnz.co.nz/life/books/my-first-ikura-celebrates-the-maori-understanding-of-menstruation
“When you think about period poverty, it’s one thing to help to make sure that everybody has access to period products, but there’s also a stigma and shame and whakamā that comes with periods. And so on our website as well, you can gift those books so that we can donate those to our partners as well and really take away the shame and, you know, think about getting My First Ikura as a thing that is done with pride and not something to be ashamed of.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
