Toni Evans joined hundreds of colour-covered locals at Mīharo Ora's inaugural Colour Run in Motueka last month. She reflects on a day that mixed fun, fundraising and a powerful show of support for families of neurodivergent children and those with additional needs.
By the end of Mīharo Ora's inaugural Colour Run, children are happily exhausted, parents who have helped create core childhood memories are making their way back to the car peering through sunglasses splashed with every colour imaginable, and a particularly cheerful retriever is no longer entirely golden, and very pleased with itself.
Inspired by the vibrant Indian colour festivals, the Motueka fundraiser is a masterclass in community spirit. Local businesses donate generously, volunteers give their time, raffle prizes overflow and the sausage sizzle works overtime.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand keeps children crawling through its inflatable drill tunnel, while two local fitness instructors have the crowd moving before the first handfuls of colour fly.
Mīharo Ora is a fledgling group founded by a passionate group of local mums who have rolled up their sleeves to fill a gap in support for families. The organisation is establishing much-needed after-school, holiday and support programmes for neurodivergent children and those with additional needs.
What becomes obvious throughout the morning is just how many lives are touched by children with neurodiversity and additional needs. The community recognises the need and turns out in force to support families who so often carry an enormous load.
Children race through clouds of colour, parents with prams amble behind, and teenagers throw themselves into the fun. Even this photographer has to surrender when several enthusiastic colour throwers point out just how disappointingly un-splattered she looks.
Within seconds she resembles a piece of modern art. Worth it.
By the time families head home, everyone is wearing the day's success in one way or another, on their clothes, in their hair, across their faces and, perhaps most inadvertently, through their cars.
Mīharo Ora may be raising funds, but today something even bigger shows up: a glimpse of the kind of inclusive community every family hopes to belong to.
A community many are proud to be part of right here in Motueka.
An upcoming edition of The Guardian will delve further into Mīharo Ora and the difference it hopes to make for neurodivergent children and their whānau.
