by Oranga Tamariki
One couple's harrowing story of being caught in Oranga Tamariki's machinations but managing to hold off - for now - a 'reverse uplift' of their whānau
We are a professional couple of Māori/Pacific Island/European heritage who have whāngai cared for many of our younger siblings, nieces and nephews over the decades. In late January 2019 we received a call from extended whānau who were desperate to find a permanent home for a baby and toddler.
The two tamariki had already been through three whānau families and for various reasons had to be moved again. Immediate whānau and Oranga Tamariki assured us they would support us for permanency and we made the naïve decision to step up and take in the tamariki on the basis of wide support for permanency. The tamariki arrived four days after the first call to us.
As a background the tamariki were abandoned (this was NOT an uplift) to Oranga Tamariki by their mother and taken into state care under court protection orders after failed attempts to return them to the parent.
Link to article: 'How We Halted a Reverse Uplift by Oranga Tamariki' | Newsroom
