Cancer teen being moved from marae to home

  • 20/06/2016
B was forced to live in Te Puea Marae after moving to Auckland for cancer treatment
B was forced to live in Te Puea Marae after moving to Auckland for cancer treatment

A teen girl suffering from cancer forced to live at Te Puea Marae will move into a new home on Tuesday.

The 16-year-old, known as B, moved to Auckland to receive treatment for her disease. Her family became homeless and took shelter at the marae, but will move to a Housing New Zealand home in west Auckland tomorrow.

In a post on the Te Puea Marae's Facebook page, B explains she moved with her solo father, three brothers and sister to Auckland from Hamilton and became homeless.

"I'm B, I'm 16, I have cancer. I am homeless," the post begins.

"We were just trying to get over my cousin's funeral and then I got told that I have Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and that there's a tumour in my lower back. Everything, it all went downhill from there.

"When I got told, I didn't think about anything, I just started crying."

The family lived in B's aunt's home in Mangere to be closer to Starship Hospital for her treatment targeting a tumour in her lower back.

As there were 15 people staying at the residence, B says things "got really tense", and the family has been living at the marae since.

"I hope we get a house so we can all live again," says B.

"So my Dad can go back to work, he's a hard worker. My brother wants to get a job. My sister, she likes her school and I want my little brothers to have a home. I feel responsible for all of this."

B's family moved into the marae on Thursday and her condition made finding them a new home a priority, says Te Puea Marae board of trustees chair Hurimoana Dennis.

Newshub.