At a young age, Maia Mariner (pictured) learnt how communities were the backbone to finding solutions.
With this lesson instilled in her by both her nanas, community is at the heart of everything 17-year-old Maia does.
When Maia was just 12 years old, she came up with the idea for a non-for-profit project, Lazy Sneakers, which motivates people to donate their lazy or unused sneakers to young people so they can play, participate and reach their full potential.
Five years later, and more than 10,000 pairs of shoes have been donated to help youngsters.
Maia has also gained recognition from the late Queen Elizabeth II for the initiative, and most recently, she collected the Community Star accolade at the 2022 Prime Minister’s Pacific Youth Awards, hosted by the Ministry for Pacific Peoples (MPP).
Sponsored by Auckland Council, the Community Star Award recognises a young Pacific person who has made a significant contribution to the wellbeing of their local community.
Maia, who shares the Community Star honours with co-winner Mary Ieremia-Allan, says the award recognises not only her contribution to the community but that of her family, particularly her nanas.
“Both my nanas have inspired me to be kind, fair and brave,” Maia says.
Driving her to serve her community is the legacy of her nanas’ work in their respective communities, she adds.
“They taught me we need to recognise communities have the answers to many of the issues we are faced with.
“Our mission is to help reduce material hardship through connecting communities who can give and receive.”
Her work with the community is reciprocal, she continues.
“The community continues to help us collect sneakers for our Lazy Sneakers project and then it helps to distribute Lazy Sneakers through their networks.
“We could not do this without our local, regional and national communities.”
Of Samoan and Māori descent, Maia completed secondary school last year, and is about to begin studying Law and Arts at the University of Auckland this year.
While uncertain what career path she will take, Maia is keen to make a difference through film, media and advocating for her people.
The ambitious young Pacific woman hopes she and the eight other 2022 PMPYA recipients can inspire future generations to pursue different leadership opportunities, especially where Pacific and Māori are not always seen or heard.
“When the PMPYA recipients met at the ceremony in Wellington, we shared stories about finding ourselves in uncomfortable spaces, where prejudice, privilege, unconscious bias exists.
“We see this as an opportunity to represent and reset some of these preconceptions by being visible, turning talk into action and being key contributors in our communities.”
Maia is grateful for the opportunities the Community Star Award brings with it and says it will her support future Lazy Sneakers projects, governance training and her studies.
Visit the MPP website for more information about PMPYA.