Pressure on families near-breaking point

At Nga Iwi School, staff say financial pressure on families has shifted from severe to near-breaking point, as rising living costs, worsening housing conditions and cuts to wider support systems leave many whānau struggling to cope. 

“For a lot of our families, times are really tough,” says Deputy Principal Arun Ganda. “What was incredibly tight before is now impossibly tight.” 

Arun says demand for basic support has surged sharply in recent months, with the school’s breakfast club now feeding more than double the number of children it once did. 

“We would have two dozen kids coming to breakfast club, but now we are feeding 50 or 60. This year it has really increased.” 

For many families, poverty is not simply about food – it is compounded by poor housing, illness, transport barriers and financial pressures that are largely beyond their control. 

“We know a lot of our attendance issues come down to families being sick, living in mouldy homes, broken housing, or simply not being able to afford to stay in the community.” 

Arun says more children are arriving at school hungry, cold, and needing urgent practical support. 

“We certainly have hungry kids, although we do our best to feed them.” 

At the same time, worsening economic conditions are affecting every aspect of family life.

For Nga Iwi School, these challenges are being intensified by broader systemic issues, including cuts to school lunch quality, rising unemployment, and growing pressure on already vulnerable communities. 

“It’s not that families aren’t trying, because they are. There are just so many pressures they simply cannot fix.” 

Despite these immense challenges, the school continues working tirelessly to fill critical gaps through breakfast programmes, food support, clothing, hygiene assistance and ongoing community outreach. 

“We’re incredibly lucky to have partners like KidsCan,” Arun says. 

“We would be so lost without the breakfast club and jackets and shoes.” 

As winter approaches, Nga Iwi School says many families are doing everything they can – but for an increasing number, determination alone is no longer enough to overcome the mounting barriers they face. 

“Our families are trying their best,” Arun says. 

“But even the support we get doesn’t cover what they need.”