Mara | Glen Innes
“Hi, my name is Maraea. Glen Innes is my home. I was brought up here for like, 16-17 years. All my kids were brought up here.
Our homestead is on Holland Ave. We know everybody around here. I’ve got a lot of friends around here. They help us when they see that we have nothing. They go and help us get some food, or take us and buy our food. Mostly the boys around here, the Tongan community, Rarotongan community, Samoans, even the Māoris; we all get together and help each other.
Because we’re well known, we’ve been brought up here, me and my family, I have nine brothers and sisters. I’m the oldest out of all, so all my friends know my siblings, and my sibling’s friends know me, and so this is how we grew. But the majority of it is, if you’re not from around here, some people can be aggressive towards you, but then there are others that look like they can be aggressive, but they’re really humble, and they will actually genuinely help you around here. It just depends on how you approach a person. Pretty much if you approach someone with aggro, you’re going to get aggro. And if you approach with please and thank yous, because we’ve been brought up with please and thank yous, they’ll help you. They’ll help you with whatever you need, show you where to get your food from, if you need food for you and your family, take you to wherever your house is if you’re lost around here, but as I said, there are genuine people that will really help you.
I was brought up around alcohol and drugs, but in saying that, I have a lot of manners. I was brought up to respect my elders, and how to look after my young siblings, and all the kids. So I really think it’s important, and especially if your mind-frame isn’t there. You need all the support you have. You need to trust in those supports. It’s up to you whether you take the advice we give, and at the end of the day, all we can do is give you advice. It’s up to you whether you take it or not and whether you take it in, embrace it and live life to the fullest. Don’t ever let anyone hold you down, put you down, or make you feel like you are nobody.”
