As our community watched the devastation of the flooding in the North Island, we were reminded of our experiences of the 2010/2011 earthquakes. We know that such devastation takes such a long time to repair, and as a school we wanted to provide support. We were keen to identify a specific school that had been affected. There were certainly many to choose from.

We decided on Hukarere Girls’ College in the Esk Valley. A picture of their school following the floods is attached. You may well have seen their hostel manager talking on the news about the night they had to evacuate.

Our total of $3000 raised for the Non-Uniform day was amazing, and we had multiple donations from families and business, as well as significant contributions from students. Their Principal was so grateful, and acknowledged the huge task ahead of them, and said they will thank us in the “Hukarere way” once the girls have returned to the school.

The text below is from a Facebook post from the school, and I think sums up the situation they were, and are, in. Again, thank you for your support.

Hukarere has been through difficult situations before, and we will do it again. Hukarere is not the sum total of our buildings, it has a spirit and a passion that is beyond our physical space. We are Hukarere and our kura spirit remain strong.