‘I needed to keep busy’

SUSTAINING THE HELPERS: Sue Wilson and Wairoa district councillor Roz Thomas delivering food and water to volunteers helping during the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle. Picture supplied

Sue Wilson isn’t one to sit on her hands. Despite her own property and surrounding roads and infrastructure being hit in back-to-back weather events, her first thought was for others.

She is the administrator for the Wairoa Community Development Trust and event manager for the cancelled East Coast Farming Expo. “When that had to be cancelled I offered to help the Wairoa District Council with PIM (Public Information Management) in the Civil Defence-declared emergency.

“I needed to keep busy,” she says.

That included taking photographs to record the response and recovery by Wairoa District Council, making sandwiches for the volunteers and displaced whānau at Hinemihi Marae, baking goodies to send out with those doing welfare checks on the farming community, and organising the Rural Wairoa Backyard Barbecue, among other things.

“Cancelling the expo after 12 months of planning was pretty huge and there were so many people who needed support so I moved into organising events to connect farmers.”

She has invited agribusinesses and agencies to the rurally focused barbecues in early April where farmers can connect with their peers and discuss their concerns about the effects of the cyclone.

Around their own farm, she and husband Fenton had their roads closed with major slipping wreaking havoc on the community stock water scheme. But it was the damage to other people’s properties that was almost harder for this very community-minded woman.

“It was tough seeing the devastation to our beautiful A&P Showgrounds and the extent of the damage to people’s homes in North Clyde,” she said.

“The ongoing wet weather was challenging. Our farmers are starting to get tired and worry about the weather and implications of not being able to fix fences and having to destock as winter approaches.”

Among the devastation have been many examples of compassion and kindness.

“There were farmers and rural people coming to town with machinery and trailers to help North Clyde residents clear their affected homes and working bees by various groups to help community organisations like the showgrounds,” says Sue. “Community spirit is massive in Wairoa when there is a crisis — there are always so many wanting to help.”

Sue’s “normal” day isn’t too far from what she does in troubled times — she is a project manager for the MPI initiative Rural Community Hubs in Putere, Ruakituri and Tiniroto districts, as well as running a design and event management company with a strong focus on the rural community.