Hundreds in tāmaki turn out for bounce

A Rupōtaka Marae vaccination kaupapa in Glen Innes led by local rangatahi called Bounce has seen more than 150 people roll their sleeves up to receive their dots.

Bounce was held at Tāmaki College over the weekend with many people turning out in their waka, or by 'waewae' express. During the event which ran under the Government’s strict Covid-19 guidelines, there were activities to do for the tamariki, prizes to be won, including an iPhone, and a LIVE Dj playing on the ‘ones-and-twos.

Haven Henare-Heke of Ruapōtaka Marae says, “It’s been a long time since we’ve all seen our whanau and not knowing if we can give them some awhi. Kaupapa like this gives us the space to slowly start implementing that.”

Bounce is a kaupapa aimed at getting Tāmaki vaccinated or boosted. It was led by Ruapōtaka Marae with great support from Whai Māia of Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei, Tāmaki College and TRC. A total of Sat. 159 people got their dot on the day, including 25 kids.

Awatea Wihongi is also involved with Bounce. Her bubbly personality was a highlight on the day that tamariki gravitated towards, “Our goal was to get the kids to come out and kind of bring back a bit of normality with socialising in our community.”

“One of the biggest things for me is seeing our tamariki playing outside again. It’s been a while since we’ve seen that,” says Haven.3

 And you can check out all the action from the day by clicking on the video above.