Hikoi all the way to Hicks Bay, to help

RAISING awareness and putea for those affected by the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle is the goal of social media star Te Aorere Pewhairangi’s “Waewae the 35” kaupapa. 
Waewae means foot, but in this context it means to walk the 280 kilometres of State Highway 35 from Gisborne to Hicks Bay. He is aiming to do 30km a day and planned to make it to Whangara today.  He has a goal of completing the walk in 10 days.
Te Aorere (Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau a Ruataupare) came up with the idea because he wanted to support his whānau and iwi along the East Coast, but lacked practical skills.
“I can’t drive a digger, I can’t build a bridge or fix a road, but what I can do is leverage my following online to help bring awareness to what is still going on on the Coast,” he said. 
Te Aorere has over 46,000 followers on Instagram and 131,000 on TikTok. 
On the southern side of Tokomaru Akau, the Hikuwai Bridge has fallen into the river, and on the northen side SH35 has fallen into the Mangahauini River. 
“I asked my cousins how they are going and they said they are all good and are OK because they have to be. But for example, 24 children are going to school in a carport.”
The children are all enrolled at schools in Tolaga Bay, Gisborne or Ruatorea, but cannot get there because the roads are closed. 
“I want to share their stories. Everyone else can kind of move on with life, but the realities for them is they are still recovering. It’s sad, but it’s also really cool to show how the community has helped each other and are getting through this time,” he said.
He has set up a Givealittle page for anyone wanting to donate. The funds will go directly to Tokomaru Akau to help those on the ground. 
Te Aorere started the hikoi with a karakia on Kaiti Hill this morning. 
“In te ao Māori everything starts in te ao wairua. We acknowledge the spiritual aspect of everything we do and if we do that, the mental and physical will follow.” 
By 8.30 this morning he was off walking along Wainui Road and by about 9.30am was at Makorori. He has a pilot vehicle that says “runners ahead”, though he won’t be running, he said.
Artist Mr G Hoete has helped support the kaupapa by painting a pair of Red Band gumboots with the SH35 logo for Te Aorere to wear along the hikoi. 
Te Aorere asked if he should wear them for the whole hikoi but gumboot master Chad Chambers advised against it. 
“But when I go into communities I will put them on.” And because of the meaning of waewae, Te Aorere has thought of some adaptations, such as people offering him piggyback rides or if they have a spare horse he could borrow, he would take them up on that offer. 
But for now, it’s slow and steady on day one. 
To donate go to givealittle.co.nz/cause/waewae-the-35 This morning the page had collected $12,324.