The Recipe for Renewal: A Māmā's Path to Recovery

Georgina's story is one of resilience, motherhood, and transformation. Our partner charity, WELLfed, became the first step on a path that would change her life.

Georgina, a young wahine Māori and māmā to four beautiful tamariki, had travelled a bumpy road in her life. She struggled with trauma, addiction, and depression before discovering WELLfed. They helped Georgina access counselling and rehabilitation services. After completing these programs, she returned to WELLfed, determined to make a change. Georgina recalls the moment she walked back in and said, "I'm ready now. Can I start?"

Georgina admits she first went to WELLfed thinking she’d get some free kai: “Coming once is easy to get that free kai, but it’s a big job to come back the next week. They make it feel easy – people who were genuinely here to have a conversation. People who are actually interested in me, I could feel the love”

Georgina has enjoyed learning new skills in the cooking classes. They’ve changed how she eats and helped her realise the relationship between healthy eating and mental health.

“I used to give my kids vitamin tablets rather than vegetables.” Previously, they were fussy, but now they rate Georgina’s chicken curry with hidden vegetables as better than shop-bought butter chicken!

Alongside the cooking classes, Georgina also attended the parenting programme at WELLfed. That helped increase her self-worth. “They helped me realise that I am an awesome mum, and I deserve better for me and my kids. I knew this, but I didn’t accept it.”

She has learnt to cope with the kids’ emotions, to avoid anger, and has observed their mental health improve noticeably - “Addiction makes you keep your children quiet, they don’t get a voice. But their voices are growing back, getting to be themselves”.

Georgina is clear that the success of WELLfed is because it is so community-oriented. “You see people from the community coming here, doing so well for themselves, and having chosen that line through the guidance of WELLfed, it helps a lot. Having a course right here in the middle of the community is something that inspires”.

Georgina is excited about future possibilities of work or study, and will work with WELLfed Next Steps on a plan. “I look back at my old self, and I think, that’s not who I want to be. I am very proud of myself.”

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Words and images supplied by WELLfed.