Waiheke resident Liz Greive, founder of Share My Super, writes in the wake of last week’s Stats New Zealand child poverty data that shows 14.3 percent of the country’s tamariki, or around 169,300 children, are living in material hardship – 10,000 more than the previous year. This marks the highest level since 2015 and is the third consecutive year of rising material hardship among our tamariki.
I wish that you could meet Anna*.
At just 13, she was homeless, sleeping rough on the streets, but somehow she still found the drive to make it to school every day.
Growing up, her thoughts were consumed by what her next meal would be. She never dreamed she’d make it to university, but with the right support, her life is now on a different path.
I thought of Anna when I read the latest child poverty statistics. Once again they demonstrate that tens of thousands of children are falling through the cracks – and they’re not just cracks, they’re ravines. We are failing a huge number of smart, capable tamariki with enormous potential.
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