Te Painga Project and Whānau Manaaki have engaged in a pilot project to bring free hearing and vision testing to our tamariki.

Te Painga Project is a not-for-profit organisation based in Papakura, Auckland that started life providing garden to table lunches in schools. When the Government cut funding to the Lunches in Schools programme, Te Painga explored providing support to tamariki by addressing the challenges schools had fed back to them around children access to vision and hearing testing.

Drawing from the goodwill of medical professionals, Te Painga is able to provide free hearing and vision tests and if needed, will provide free glasses and free hearing aides to tamariki.

“The data Te Painga was able to draw from told them that they needed to start earlier than primary school” says Whānau Manaaki Health Coordinator Melvina Martin, “There is a lot of stigma for primary and intermediate-age children around wearing glasses for the first time. By starting in the early years, tamariki become used to wearing glasses and so the impact is not as significant as if they started as an 8 or 9 or 12 year old”.

As a result, Te Painga and Whānau Manaaki have begun a pilot project focused on Porirua East and Levin Kindergartens (including Ōtaki and Shannon) where they will provide vision screening to support tamariki, whānau, and staff in those kindergartens. Under the pilot, tamariki who need glasses will receive two free pairs—one for home and one for kindergarten. Te Pāinga’s mission is to ensure this support continues throughout a child’s learning journey, so the programme will also extend to local schools in Porirua East and Levin.

Melvina is excited at the possibilities, “Should the pilot be successful, we are hopeful that next year the project will expand to all of our kindergartens across all of our rohe”.

Pictured: WM Health Coordinator Melvina Martin with a copy of a report on the work of Te Painga Project