A Kererū School student has collected her community’s stories from Cyclone Gabrielle and turned them into a children’s picture book with the help of her school and Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazelhurst.
Thirteen-year-old Eleanor Grady started writing the book as a school project, but it grew into a way to express what her community went through during the cyclone.
“How we suffered, but also how we rebuilt and recovered,” Eleanor said.
Eleanor’s experience during the cyclone was a lot drier than some of her classmates. Her family lives up a mountain and were lucky enough to have a generator for when the power went out.
“It was pretty good,” she said of February, 2023.
