Māori narratives of poverty and resilience highlight coping strategies of whānau living in hardship

Stories gathered from whānau living below the poverty line in New Zealand show strong coping mechanisms by parents as they strive to provide for their children, while dealing with the constant stress and fear of unexpected expenses.

The stories provide genuine insights into the realities of poverty for Māori whānau and the extensive efforts of parents to meet the needs of their children.

“Reading these stories is a poignant reminder that parents living in poverty have to work a lot harder than others to ensure that their children are fed and have enriching experiences,” said UNICEF NZ’s National Advocacy Manager, Deborah Morris-Travers.

“All of the families interviewed had adaptive strategies such as growing their own food, sewing, gathering seafood, and spending large amounts of time comparing prices and sourcing the cheapest possible goods. These families are skilful at budgeting, but dealing with poverty consumes their time (saving money is a way of life) and places a strain on their psychological wellbeing.”

The report shows that day to day life choices were restricted by a meagre budget that often failed to cover the basics living expenses. For all of the families, ensuring there was adequate food was a priority, with parents sometimes going without in order to feed their children. Food choices were restricted because of limited budgets – meaning they are forced to eat what was available, not what was nutritious or appealing.

This valuable study looked at five areas: defining poverty, material hardship, the impact on children, relationships, and resilience. It found that perceptions of poverty and wealth for Māori were shaped by factors other than money. For the whānau interviewed, wealth was defined in terms of relational wellbeing, whānau cohesion, and children’s capacity to thrive.

Ms Morris-Travers added, “Parents wanted the best for their children and were strongly committed to providing loving, stable homes. They identified a hope that their children would be able to choose their own paths, and have access to training and stable employment.

“But the stories illustrated how hardship has significant impacts on children’s participation in school, sport, and social activities; with families not allowing school friends over to play because of their situation. Some parents talked about long delays in getting their children to the doctor because of costs, with some required to ‘pre-pay’ at their doctor’s surgery. Children are also missing out on clothes and haircuts.”

"Like the other day, the kids had to stay home from school because I had zero dollars. I had no petrol, couldn't even get them to school, so they had to stay home from school and I just thought 'that is so sh*t'." (Whānau 6)

The stories demonstrate how insufficient income limits children’s ability to participate in their community and wider society, and restricts their quality of life, quality of health and their access to education. This inability to participate is a breach of children’s rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The whānau interviewed for the study spoke of the continual stress and worry they lived with. The stress and adversity impacted on relationships, and on parents’ physical and mental health. Having energy to nurture relationships and spend quality time with their children was seen as important, but parents noted that children suffered when they were stressed and tired.

“What’s heartening about this study is the extent to which relationships and links with culture helped to build a sense of wellbeing and resilience. A critical part of their resilience was embracing and following tikanga Māori. A sense of wellbeing and wealth was more likely to be linked to things non-material, such as te reo Māori, their marae, and family connections (whanaungatanga). Among these whanau was a strong commitment to providing their children with a stable, loving, home,” Ms Morris-Travers added

“Families recognised that while they couldn’t control their budgets they could control how they responded to their circumstances. As a result, whānau tried to focus on what was positive in their lives rather than what was negative. Focussing on the quality of relationships was considered a key strategy for dealing with poverty constructively.

“UNICEF NZ hopes the stories of these whānau will illustrate the efforts of parents to meet the needs of their children and reinforce the case for Government to significantly improve support for families. Doing so will improve the health, education and participation of children while also alleviating the stress on parents. Parents struggled to hide their stress from their children while also trying hard to offset the impact of poverty on their children.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media