A Season of Gratitude: Thousands of Gifts for Tāmaki Families

What started as a simple dream to ensure no child felt forgotten at Christmas time, has grown into Gratitude NZ, a small non-profit founded by local mothers Johana Te Momo (Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāti Whāwhākia) and Arunima Dhingra, dedicated to empowering children and families in hardship.

This Christmas, they are preparing to distribute 3,000 Christmas gifts to children across the Tāmaki area through the upcoming Tāmaki Gala.

Johana’s passion to give back sparked while working in a community engagement role in South Auckland when she came across hardships in the community that reminded her of her own childhood. She decided to organise a Christmas Present Drop in Otara, and through crowdfunding and local support raised $35,000 and collected 6,000 gift donations.

From there, Johana joined forces with her friend, entrepreneur and mother Arunima Dhingra, and founded the Gratitude New Zealand Charitable Trust. Through this partnership they also distribute food parcels and are collecting donations to hand out to families just in time for Christmas.

Their work is targeted at families who are struggling under the radar of larger charities who may slip through the gaps.

Johana says, “That experience was overwhelming. For many kids, it’s the first present they had ever received. We prefer to support the smaller groups who don’t get much support, because that’s where the real need often is.”

For Johana, the mahi hits closer to home as she describes her early years growing up in a household surrounded by violence and fear. She was diagnosed with dyslexia and struggled with reading and writing until age 11 which added more stress to an already difficult childhood.

Despite her hardships, Johana discovered she had a creative ability which later became her escape. Since following her dream and turning her passion into creating fashion, she became an award-winning fashion designer at age 18.

“You didn’t talk about the violence. You didn’t tell anyone. I genuinely didn’t know it wasn’t normal. So creativity was my safe space; it was the only place where the violence couldn’t reach me.”

With a close friendship between the two that spans more than ten years from when their children were in kindergarten together, the idea for Gratitude came after a discussion about why so many children go without basic needs. It quickly revealed shared beliefs and similar values, despite coming from completely different worlds.

“We’re a good combination of heart and mind,” Arunima laughs. “When I’m all heart, Joe becomes the mind. And when Joe’s heart-first, I sharpen up. It just works.”

As a successful entrepreneur, philanthropist and dedicated mother, Arunima’s journey into this mahi began from a different path but led to the same purpose. Coming from a middle-class family in India and arriving in New Zealand at 19 with little more than $1,000 and 40kg of luggage, Arunima spent those formative years building her life from the ground up. So she knows first hand about the struggle and overcoming barriers, and it was important to her to operate a charity where businesses could see where donations went, and people could experience and feel the true meaning of giving.

Arunima says, “My kids go to private school. Every year they collect items to donate, but they never see where it lands. How will the next generation feel the difference if they don’t experience it? They’ve got to understand how lucky they are.”

Gratitude NZ’s Christmas drive has grown rapidly and what began with a couple hundred packages has grown to thousands and distributed to regions hit by flooding, to kindergartens, and to children experiencing trauma or separation from incarcerated parents.

The team are grateful for the ongoing support from volunteers, local businesses, and community partners like Mercury Energy who have donated funds, and organisations such as Everybody Eats who have helped distribute surplus gifts to families in need.

Despite the progress and growth, Arunima feels they’re only at the start of something much bigger.

“I feel like we’ve only just turned the ignition on,” she says. “We want to break cycles, the cycle of disadvantage, yes, but also the cycle of privilege. Kids need to understand responsibility, empathy, and gratitude. That’s how we change generations.”

The past year has been one of the hardest for Johana after suffering a severe concussion, she spent months recovering. Ironically, the concussion forced her into stillness for the first time in her life and she describes it as an unexpected blessing, a chance to heal old wounds and realign with her purpose.

“It knocked me on the head, literally, and woke me up. I had to learn to slow down. To be present. To value myself. My kids are thriving and that’s what gets me through. They’re living a childhood completely different to mine - and that’s a huge win.”

As her health improved, the opportunity to support the Tāmaki Gala emerged at exactly the right time. The experience will be a homecoming for Johana having spent time as a youth growing up on Taniwha Street in Glen Innes.

“Tāmaki Regeneration has been incredible to work with. It feels like everything aligned perfectly. When the timing is right, you just know,” she says.

3,000 Christmas presents are set to be donated to children across Tāmaki is its largest contribution to the area to date. The gifts will be distributed at the Tāmaki Gala, with remaining packages provided to families living in social housing in the area. If you’re an organisation looking for ways to donate or lend a hand, please send a message to johana@gratitudenz.org or arunima@aimsglobal.co.nz