(Picture caption: Treating others with empathy and kindness has paid off for Tupu Aotearoa client. Picture credit: Uneeq.)
Showing love and kindness does not cost anything but can result in unexpected rewards.
This is the moral behind the testimony of a young Tongan mother who enrolled in the Tupu Aotearoa programme last year and shared by her support navigator from Quality Education Services (QES) in Auckland.
Navigator Ioana Hill met the young Tongan mother of two in 2022. (We will call her Mary in this story to safeguard her identity and that of others that appear in this story).
Service provider QES was able to help Mary with her CV and organised some training for her in the security industry.
Mary says she and her family had been through some tough times and that she was keen to get a good, decent job which, along with her partner, would support her small family.
Once Mary became a qualified security officer, she received a placement for work experience at the YWCA which was supporting refugees and asylum seekers.
Initially Mary was only performing security duties there, but due to her work ethic and empathy for the refugees, she was offered a duty manager role by the YMCA Manager.
Mary also worked as security at emergency housing from time to time too.
On one occasion she was working a night shift and saw the silhouette of a woman standing at the gates of the emergency housing motel in heavy rain.
When Mary asked the woman if she was okay, she was told: “I just need a place to stay for the night.
“I’m having trouble at home but everywhere I have gone is fully booked and I’ve been told that you are fully booked as well.”
Mary offered this woman a hot drink and because her shift didn’t finish until 6am, added that she was happy to talk with her if she needed support.
It turned out the woman had a senior role in an organisation and shortly after, offered Mary a role with them.
The woman emphasised it was Mary’s willingness to show love and kindness to her even when the accommodation had nothing to offer, that caused her to reach out to Mary.
“This is a beautiful reminder that kindness goes a long way,” Ioana says.
“We never know what others are going through, and to be fair we don’t need to know.
“We just need to love our people regardless of circumstances, situation, or status.”
Mary is in the process of signing her new contract and is now studying Social Work, focusing on Indigenous Studies.
Ioana says she feels honoured to be able to work with and support the likes of Mary.
“If it wasn’t for this Tupu Aotearoa contract, I genuinely do not know what other options are readily accessible for our people.”
Tupu Aotearoa
The Ministry for Pacific Peoples’ (MPP) Tupu Aotearoa initiative aims to see more Pacific people employed, in training or studying and upskilling them for the future.
Pacific communities flourish when Pacific people have access to work or learning opportunities.
The programme is designed to ensure Pacific people have the right tools, education, training and employment opportunities to succeed and connects them with local providers who will support them to access work or learning opportunities on the journey to employment, further training or study.
Visit the MPP website for more information on Tupu Aotearoa.