The Herald is proud to present the fifth episode of a major new investigative documentary series, Deep South, produced and presented by Crux Productions.
Queenstown and Wānaka are two of the least diverse towns in New Zealand, so when Covid hit in 2020 the local Māori population found themselves unsupported, with suicides and significant hardship showing steep increases.
But local Ngāi Tahu kaumatua Darren Rewi and his wife Debbie used the pandemic as a catalyst to launch new welfare initiatives that have continued post-Covid and changed the cultural landscape of the Southern Lakes.
Darren's guiding principle: Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi - with your basket and my basket the people will thrive.
