The whole of New Zealand showed true Kiwi spirit when a young girl was attacked at a holiday park in Turangi but none more so than the Turangi community. They have raised an astounding $13,000 for the family of the little girl.
Turangi resident Vicki Ham organised a bucket collection in the town after news broke of the assault.
"I wondered what I could do to help. I thought this would be a nice way for our community to give something back to the family," said Vicki. "We're absolutely devastated that something like this could happen in Turangi. We can't make it right so this is our way of showing that the community of Turangi do care."
Vicki had no expectation when she started the collection and had set no figure to aim for in the beginning.
"We got $2,000 very quickly and that was amazing. As we started to get higher I set a target of $10,000 and it's just continued to go up since then. It doesn't surprise me that that the community have reacted in this way as they will do anything to help the family but for a community that is not wealthy, and at Christmas time, that contribution is huge."
A cheque has been presented by Vicki to Senior Sergeant Sue Douglas, officer in charge of Turangi Police who will pass it onto the family of the little girl.
Senior Sergeant Douglas said: "The generosity is a true representation of the Turangi community. The support they have shown the family and the Police has been overwhelming. It makes me feel very proud to live in Turangi and be a part of the community."
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