Source: Radio New Zealand
The grandmother of five founded the charity Kaitāia Whānau in Need after she spotted a social media post from a young mum who’d just given birth to a premature baby.
The March 26-27 flood wrecked Deirdre Ahu’s belongings and left her home in need of serious repair. Supplied
During the past five years Deirdre Ahu has helped hundreds – probably thousands – of people in Kaitāia in desperate need of food, clothing and comfort.
But now she is the one in need of help, after the March flood swamped her home and destroyed almost everything she owned.
The grandmother of five founded the charity Kaitāia Whānau in Need after she spotted a social media post from a young mum who’d just given birth to a premature baby.
“This young mother had absolutely nothing, nothing prepared, no clothing, absolutely nothing. So when she put a post up asking for help, I thought I’d share it,” Ahu said.
“The support that came in was truly overwhelming. And I thought, my goodness, if we can help one mother, how many more can we help in our community? So it really started from there.”
Next she branched out into providing food parcels for vulnerable families, then clothing, then blankets and linen, and furniture.
She teamed up with Shoebox Christmas, a national organisation that makes sure children in struggling families don’t miss out on presents, and in 2024 started the highly successful “Adopt a Granny” in Kaitāia.
Under the programme, volunteers are paired up with an elderly person and visit them fortnightly to provide company, fresh groceries, and a welfare check.
One of Deirdre Ahu’s mokopuna helps deliver a food parcel to a family in need. Supplied
Ahu also organised care packs for solo dads – a group she said was often overlooked – and helped women fleeing violent relationships.
She had no idea of how many people she’d helped, though she’d provided food for at least 100 whānau a month and clothing or blankets to about 80 a week.
“But it was never about numbers. It was about not passing any judgement and respecting that our most vulnerable families needed help,” she said.
All that came to an end when the March 26-27 flood swept knee-deep through her home in Pāmapūria, south of Kaitāia.
The flood that hit Kaitāia last month also swept through Deirdre Ahu’s home at Pāmapūria. Supplied FNDC
All her belongings – furniture, bedding and appliances – were damaged and had to be thrown away, and the flooring and walls would have to be stripped out and replaced.
Ahu said the house was “no castle” but it had been passed down from her father and it was home.
It was uninsured.
She had been staying in Auckland for the past week where she had managed to find transitional housing and was now looking for work.
Her plan was to save up some money, buy building materials, and repair her home.
A few days after the flood she made the difficult decision to shut down Kaitāia Whānau in Need and pass the rākau (baton) on to others.
She had not yet been able to bring herself to shut down the group’s Facebook page, and was still scrolling the Kaitāia Notice Board checking for requests for food, clothing or furniture.
The 55-year-old said she was going through “trialling times”.
“I’ve lost everything. But at the end of the day, it’s all replaceable. So I thank God for that blessing.”
She refused to take credit for the work of Kaitāia Whānau in Need during the past five years.
All she did, she said, was act as coordinator between those able to donate and those in need.
“It’s a credit to our amazing community, including our amazing businesses and support groups who were happy to partner with me to provide for our whānau. Without the community it would be impossible. I take no credit whatsoever.”
Ahu said she was hugely grateful to the Civil Defence, the Far North District Council and the mayor for the support she had received since the flood.
That included emergency accommodation and a skip bin – “that was like gold!” – to dispose of her flood-wrecked belongings.
Even now council staff called her every two to three days to check if she was okay, she said.
She hoped to restart her work once she returned to Kaitāia and was back on her feet.
“This was God’s calling upon my life and my passion to be able to serve the needs of others.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
