Nga Whare Waatea marae - we free up the marae for everyone

Mangere's Nga Whare Waatea marae, where Radio Waatea 603AM is based, offers a multitude of services and not just for Maori.

“We free up the marae for everyone. That’s what the name [Waatea] means,” says executive director Bert Karaka.

"People on the dole are struggling because they have to pay high rent. So a couple of years ago Nga Whare Waatea ran a marae soup kitchen through winter. We had people come from as far as Papakura.

"Our people from the church would donate bread, soup, all that stuff. And then we sat down and ate with them. So we're not just serving them. We'd sit down and have a kai with our people.

"We had quite a few Pakeha. You can read through their shyness. So we sat with them for a feed .... we're not asking them for anything."

The marae’s restorative justice strategy includes giving people with periodic detention sentences a chance to fulfill their requirements. “It’s important that we recognize the amount of work they do. We couldn’t manage running the marae without their help.”

Extensive work is being carried out to upgrade the marae’s facilities, including work on the kitchen gardens and an extensive upgrade to the marae’s large kitchen

“I would like to see our kitchen completed, but there are regular hui which we need to tend to first.

“Most recently we hosted Te Ataarangi waananga. We could easily hold two hundred people with room for more.

"A lot of Tongan community churches also use the marae for functions. At Easter here at the marae they were singing a reenactment of the crucifixion in their language,” Mr Karaka says.

“There was tremendous singing on the marae. It’s not just for us, it's for everyone."

Nga Whare Waatea Marae Contact Details

 CEO: Willie Jackson

Email: wille.j@muma.co.nz

Chairman: Bert Karaka

Phone: 09 275 7250