She’s helping flood-stricken families in her community despite being a victim and ‘technically homeless’ herself

Multimedia Journalist·NZ Herald·

5 Feb, 2023 12:41 AM4 mins to read

Ketina Chivasa had her home gutted by fire and floodwaters but is still finding time to help other flood-stricken families. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Despite being hard hit by Auckland’s devasting floods and currently living in temporary accommodation, a local African community leader advocate is putting her needs aside to help flood-stricken families in her communities.

Ketina Chivasa, 41, a former Auckland City Hospital nurse who now runs the Pan African Community Centre in New Lynn, says many among the African communities here continue to feel ashamed about reaching out for help.

“The floods of last week have hit our communities very hard, but many are embarrassed to reach out for help. They have this ‘colonial mind’ where they think if they ask for help, it means they’re weak,” Chivasa said.

“So in a way that’s forced me to put myself out there, to tell them ‘hey, I’m a victim too’ and I’m saying I need help too so there’s no shame.”

Chivasa, a mother of two, had gone to Gisborne to take part in a marathon to celebrate her birthday last Friday - the day Auckland had its biggest deluge in history.

When she returned on Saturday, she found her Glen Eden home had been destroyed not only by the torrential rain but also by a fire that broke out after her microwave oven exploded as a result of the floodwaters.

“When I opened the door, I couldn’t believe my eyes. My house was no longer habitable, I can’t live there and had to seek assistance for shelter and alternative accommodation,” said Chivasa, originally from Zimbabwe.

Chivasa said she had only just lost her car following an accident two weeks ago when she was rushing home from a family emergency.

Ketina Chivasa with donations for flood victims at the Pan African Community Centre. Photo / Brett Phibbs

“First I was carless, and now I am technically homeless and don’t know when or how my home is going to be fixed,” she said.

“I had just been away for 24 hours, and I came back to find my house covered in black soot. A microwave had caught fire following the flood, it exploded when the power came back on we believe.”

But soon, she was informed of others in the community who had suffered even more damage than her.

“Many have been hit quite badly. I have been on the ground as one of the victims, many have been just so devastated,” Chivasa said.

“There was someone who is battling some serious health issues, and was discharged from hospital only to find they no longer had a home to return to.”

It was stories like these that give her the strength to get back to helping other victims once she got settled in her alternative accommodation.

Chivasa and other volunteers spread the word by email and on social media about seeking donations and the response had been “very heartwarming”, she said.

Ketina Chivasa says her centre needs stretcher beds. Photo / Brett Phibbs

“Our volunteers are now going through bags and bags of stuff that have come in, but I guess the things we are looking for most would be bedding, towels, and footwear,” Chivasa said.

“What we urgently need most now are stretcher beds, in our centre we can provide temporary shelter and we know of many in the community who are currently still sleeping in cars.”

Free hot meals are also being provided at the centre to those who needed them.

“I just want to say to those who need help but haven’t raised their hands that’s it’s okay to seek help, I’m one of those people,” Chivasa said.

Another community leader, who contacted the Herald but did not want to be identified, described Chivasa as a “true community heroine”.

Auckland remains in a state of emergency as recovery work continues.

So far, more than 250 properties have been red-stickered and 1351 yellow-stickered.

Auckland Emergency Management duty controller Rachel Kelleher said it would take weeks and months to determine the full extent of damage across the city.