Catholic Māori trust gets grant for housing project

A grant of $600,000 for Ngā Pekanga Catholic Māori Charitable Trust was approved by the Toi Foundation this month. The money, along with $1.5million awarded by Taranaki Electricity Trust (TET) in June, will help bring a long-held vision to reality.

The trust is to start building the Wisdom Village, a kaumātua housing complex, on land it owns in Waitara. The staged project will see the construction of the first five units begin next year.

It is envisaged that a total of 24 flats – a mix of one- and two-bedroom units – will be included in the complex by the time it is finished, along with a multi-purpose community centre. The estimated cost for the entire project, designed by architect Murali Bhaskar from Boon, is $16 million.

Trust chair Colleen Tuuta expressed gratitude for the funding. She said the trust had developed a funding strategy to raise the rest of the money for the housing development. 

Toi Foundation chief executive Maria Ramsay said the project had a strong alignment with its rangatiratanga strategy as it “increases access to safe, healthy, affordable housing while supporting Maori-led solutions, aspirations and community empowerment”.

Ngā Pekanga Catholic Māori Mission started in Waitara in late 1940s, wrote Tiahuia Abraham in 2020.

Three acres, situated on the Main North Road, at the corner of Princess Street and Bayly Road, were purchased by the Māori Mission and from donations in December 1948. The land included a large residence, a two-roomed cottage and some smaller buildings.

The Mission Station is called Ngā Pekanga, which means “call in”. It was opened, blessed, occupied and established on January 1, 1949. In 1983, the whole Taranaki mission was centralised at Ngā Pekanga. 

FULL STORY

Trust secures $600k grant for kaumātua housing village in Waitara (By Deena Coster/Taranaki Daily News – subscription required).

He Hīkoi Whakapono: A Journey of Faith (Archdiocese of Wellington)