I was a renter all my life. Now I’ve bought my first home

By Re: News in partnership with Westpac

Solo-dad Karlos Ruakere has been a renter all his life, until now. He's just bought his first whare  and he says it’s more than just a home. It ensures his daughter has the security he didn’t have growing up.   

“I've worked hard for that security for my daughter. And if it's not this whare, it'll be the next whare or next bit of whenua, or even some financial pūtea, so she's got options.” 

He says it was only possible with the support of Ka Uruora –  an Iwi-led housing scheme set up to grow inter-generational wellbeing among whānau Māori. 

In this new Re: News series, My First Whare, made in partnership with Westpac, we hear about how financial education changed the lives of five whānau, and how it helped them buy their first home. Watch the full series here on TVNZ+

All Episodes5

I was a renter all my life. Now I’ve bought my first home

Solo-dad Karlos Ruakere says his first house is more than just a home, as it’s for his mum and daugh

How financial education from our iwi helped us avoid bankruptcy

Crystal and Russell Hockley had so much debt they considered going bankrupt.

We were in $76k debt. We turned that around and bought our whare

Mirihana Patu and Gloria Rehu share how they managed to buy their first home after being in debt.

What it's like living next to your marae and iwi

Heneriata Paringatai and Josh Hurae share their experience of living in a modern day papakāinga.

‘It hits different cos it’s ours’: What owning our whare means to our whānau

CJ Gilbert and Kataraina Davis give a glimpse into what it’s like living on a modern-day papakāinga.