Jacinda Ardern Instagram – Roughly four years ago now we started a programme in Christchurch and Kaikōura called Mana Ake. It was designed to help support the mental health and well-being of children after they’d been through such a tough set of events. Mana Ake puts teams that include everything from social workers to mental health workers, alongside schools to help support their students. One of the things I especially love is the work I’ve seen them doing to help give kids the tools to look after their mental well being as they grow. Today we officially launched the programme on the West Coast, meaning 3,000 more children will be covered by Mana Ake. We’re also expanding into Northland, Counties Manakau, Bay of Plenty and Lakes which means we’ll be able to support an extra 195,000 primary and intermediate age children. I know this programme is making a difference, and it’s wonderful to see it growing at a time when our children and young people need it the most.