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The level of hardship caused by Covid-19 in Auckland's Pasifika community is causing children to drop out of education to support their families.
Outreach workers are reporting an alarming growth in poverty, due to retrenchment during the city's first and second lockdowns.
Debbie Sorensen is the Chief Executive of Pasifika Futures, the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency for Pacific families in New Zealand, and also the Chief Executive of the Pasifika Medical Association - she's gravely concerned by the level of need and distress.
She says families reliant on one income have been devastated when the sole breadwinner has become a casualty of Covid related workplace cutbacks.
Debbie Sorensen. Photo: Alex Perrottet / RNZ