Meet Season-Mary Downs – Tukau Community Fund
Te Kapotai, Ngati Hine, Ngapuhi
Season-Mary was born and raised in Northland and is a Director of Tukau Law. Season-Mary is passionate about her local communities, and is the co-founder of the Tukau Community Fund with her best friend Chelsea Terei. Established in 2017, the Tukau Community Fund and Legacy Clothing are combined to enhance rangatiratanga (self-determination), and empower the Moerewa and Kawakawa communities in the Far North. Period poverty is an issue in the North. Season-Mary and the Tukau team have joined forces with MyCup NZ in a campaign to convert all women and girls in Moerewa and Kawakawa to menstrual cups. #endingperiodpoverty #community #lifechanging
Meet Willow-Jean Prime – Labour MP
Willow-Jean believes not one more child should live in poverty, not one more family should be without a home and not one more New Zealander should be without a dream. She believes Northland deserves better and New Zealand needs better.
Willow-Jean loves Northland! She grew up there and it’s home for her family. Northland gave her a great childhood, and she wants to make sure that there is a thriving future in Northland for families, communities and businesses. That’s why she wants to be Labour MP for Northland.
Willow-Jean is currently a Far North District Councillor in her second term. She has a strong background in law, advocacy and Maori and Community Development.
From the community – for the community.
The Tukau Community Fund supports the empowerment and well-being of the communities in the North.
Supporting children and adults in their ambitions, families during tough times, community initiatives, and cultural development – these are just a few of the ways that the Tukau Community Fund can help to create vibrant communities. The more people they have contributing to the Fund, the quicker they will achieve their goals.
They are currently distributing menstrual cups to their two towns to help women in their communties. They have come up with some mind blowing statistics about how much they have saved their communites by giving out menstrual cups.
Here is an update from Season-Mary:
As you know Tukau has partnered with Kimberli and the awesome team at MyCupNZ in a campaign to end period poverty in our local area – Moerewa and Kawakawa. Period poverty if you don’t know is when women and girls can not afford sanitary products to manage their periods and we know that girls do miss school. The menstrual cup is life changing – it lasts 10 years, it saves a woman approx $230 per year, 240 tampons in a year and over a life time $9120.
Goal:
- The goal is full conversion. Convert all women and girls possible in Moerewa and Kawakawa (and rural areas) to the cup….then the rest of the North! Haha…watch this space.
Achievements:
- Since doing a call out for donations from the community and partnering with Kimberli and her team at MyCupNZ who have donated loads of cups too, we have…
- Raised $2500 from donations. Received 250 cups from MyCupNZ.
- Provided 2600 cups to women and girls in our local communities (the stories are THE best). There are some amazing women helping us to get the cups into the community. Doing the 1 minute 101 (education) with each women and girl on HOW TO use the thing. Its amazing.
- Amazing benefits: Other than how life changing a cup is and how positively it changes your relationship with your body and period, 2600 cups being used approximately means:
❤624,000 tampons per year NOT being used. #taiao #environmental
❤$624,000 saved (money not spent from our town on sanitary products).
❤$6.24 million dollars saved over the life time of 2600 women and girls. Believe it or not.
Connections and relationships are being created between women and girls who feel more comfortable to talk about the issue. This kaupapa is lifting the lid on other important issues for women and girls. Will spare you right now haha , but there are more conversations that need to be had!
Where to next: We are going to continue to roll out the kaupapa across Moerewa and Kawakawa until we have converted as many women and girls as possible.
It truly works on word of mouth and from conversations. From women giving to other women. From community spirit. If you would like to be involved or would like a cup please flick them a message.
https://www.tukaulegacy.com