All’s well at expo

While Fieldays was the big one for rural folk nationwide, Pukekohe’s Rural Wellbeing Expo saw town meet country right here in Franklin.

Held at the PIA Event Centre at the weekend, the expo was organised by the Dominion Federation of New Zealand Chinese Growers (NZCGF). It focused on ensuring that our community remains happy, healthy and (importantly) connected.

“The Expo brought together growers, rural families and local [town] residents, providing free health checks, wellbeing services and information sessions in a family-friendly format,” the NZCGF’s Bobby Lowe says. “It was a unique opportunity to connect directly or further with our rural community.”

The expo in Pukekohe is one of 18 community-based initiatives backed by the government to promote good health in rural New Zealand, Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey confirms.

“We’ve focused on supporting proposals that can have the greatest impact on the ground and new initiatives targeting gaps,” he says.

“Partnering with grassroots organisations enables funding to go further and make a real difference.”