Ngaire - A community champion
Ngaire is a community worker in an isolated, high-deprivation, rural community who, despite not being funded, is passionate about improving the financial capability of her community.
She is a one-stop-shop in a sense as she just does what her community needs.
She is frustrated that she doesn’t have funding to do all the things required to help meet the needs in her community, especially the continuous stream of needy women and children. She has found that the best way to deal with people and build their trust is to start slowly and wait for them to come to her. People come and go – and when they are in a real crisis mode, they tend to fall off her radar and she doesn’t see them for a while. If she had time, she might go around and find them but she’s just too stretched.
In her words
"People are struggling but they don’t want government help. They are whakamā, have too much pride and prefer to sit and struggle. But they don’t understand what they are entitled to. They are frustrated and can’t see a way out."
"[Government] services talk about manaaki / whānau – we should walk the talk."
"Working with the families, looking at the whole system that young person is within, what they come with, what they go back to, we really work to engage everybody along that journey."
"They are pushed into a situation they can’t control. They need extra money. They just don’t have enough up here. That’s when they either get angry… or they just cry."
Her strengths
- Ngaire has high energy
- She has an insider view of the community
- She is a trusted person that the locals know
- She has excellent community skills
- She is a qualified social worker.
How can we support Ngaire to help her community to thrive?
- Provide funding models that are flexible and allow for long, slow engagement that builds trust and outreach.
- Offer training that supports her holistic style.
- Provide peer and professional support so she doesn’t burn out.
- Link her into a host agency that supports her and lets her get on with the job.
