Napier offers beds and holiday respite for severely affected families of Canterbury

A number of Christchurch families arrive in Napier on Monday for a much needed break and rest, thanks to the Napier City Council.

The families who have been dealing with the aftermath of a massive earthquake which hit their home city almost three weeks ago, will spend a week enjoying all Napier has to offer. The opportunity to help Cantabrians hit hard by the quake stems from an offer made by Napier City Council’s tourism businesses to Christchurch City Council to help families get away.

Napier Mayor Barbara Arnott says, Napier has experienced the devastation of a major earthquake and it seems fitting for the city to help those worst affected by the Christchurch quake. “When we were first in touch with Christchurch City Council to see what we could do to help, they had been inundated with offers. Our offer had appeal because it came as an entirely free holiday package for families including transport, food and fun,” says Barbara. “We must acknowledge the generosity of Air New Zealand, as without their donation of free flights for these families to Napier they wouldn’t be able to benefit from our offer.”

Kennedy Park TOP 10 Resort in Napier, will host the families and have called on other council businesses and the local community to ‘pitch in’ to cover their needs during their stay. General Manager of Kennedy Park TOP 10 Resort David Aflallo, says it’s a privilege to be helping people that really need it. “These families need to re-group and forget about their problems for a while. We want them to have fun in our beautiful city for a few days so they can clear their heads and go home feeling happier and ready to tackle what lies ahead”.

Kennedy Park TOP 10 Resort will host a total of 15 families which includes 60 people, and is hoping to organise a range of fun activities for them during their week-long stay in Napier. The park offer offers the perfect environment for relaxation, with a vast range of entertainment and activities on-site to keep both adults and children entertained.

Tina Lock, along with her husband and two children are one of the families who will be visiting next week, and Tina says the family’s so delighted to be able to come to Napier for a holiday. “Our home in Kaiapoi will have to be demolished and we are still living in it, until we get a call that we have to move out. That could be any day, so we are all packed up and ready to go,” says Tina. “We really feel like we’re living in limbo. It just doesn’t feel like our home anymore”. Tina says the family’s looking forward to getting away and forgetting about it all for a while.