Kaitaia Whānau in Need assisted families with clothing, food and care. Founder Deirdre Ahu’s moko, Milarn, with a clothing package prepared for delivery.
Kaitaia Whānau in Need assisted families with clothing, food and care. Founder Deirdre Ahu’s moko, Milarn, with a clothing package prepared for delivery.
For the past five years, Deirdre Ahu has been the person Kaitāia families turned to in moments of hardship.
Now, after being severely impacted by recent flooding and losing everything, she said she had to make the difficult decision to close the not-for-profit organisation Kaitāia Whānau in Need.
Northland experienceda powerful weather system this month, delivering large amounts of rain and damaging winds. The Far North was under a state of emergency until last week and the clean-up in some parts of the district is ongoing.
Ahu was one of many affected and said making the decision to close wasn’t an easy one.
“It wasn’t a hobby, and it wasn’t a mahi, it was an ultimate passion that was laid on my heart five years ago.”
That work came to a sudden halt after floodwaters damaged her home in Pāmapūria, near Kaitāia, leaving her without possessions, income, or the ability to continue helping others.
Ahu, who has been medically diagnosed with COPD, said she was unable to take on the physical demands of recovery alone, but praised the support she received from council crews and Civil Defence.
“They were absolutely amazing. They provided me with accommodation, skips and a crew to help clean up. I was truly grateful.”
Despite that support, the personal toll has been overwhelming.
“I couldn’t give any more to Kaitaia Whānau in Need that I couldn’t exactly do for myself in the space that I was in. It made the most emotional decision to actually have to give it up.”
While managing the Northerner’s 78-room emergency accommodation, Kaitāia Whānau in Need founder Deirdre Ahu helped families with shared meals and community support.
She credited the “amazing community” in the Far North that helped her co-ordinate the service.
She has organised the delivery of Christmas gifts, supplied families with furniture, food and clothing and provided elderly residents with extra food and care.
Since announcing the closure, she said she has been flooded with messages from people offering to help keep the initiative going.
“I’ve helped many families. My first priority has actually been for those families with children needing food. I found there were a lot of elderly in our community living fortnight to fortnight, barely eating fresh food,” Ahu said.
Ahu said maintaining dignity and fairness was central to how the group operated, ensuring donations were distributed based on genuine need.
Her work extended beyond the group itself.
While managing emergency accommodation at the Northerner in Kaitāia, Ahu helped source and store surplus school lunches, distributing them to both residents and the wider community.
“Families would message me and I’d invite them in to grab meals, so you knew they were eating,” she said.
Now based in Auckland while seeking emergency housing, Ahu said she hopes the work she started may one day continue, even if not immediately.
“The fact that I haven’t been able to close the page down tells me there’s still a calling to serve,” she said.
For now, she is focused on rebuilding her own life, after years spent helping others rebuild theirs.
Anyone wishing to contact Ahu can reach out to her directly on Deirdre.ahu71@gmail.com
