What has brought you the most joy or strength this year? 

Linda | Kerikeri

Linda is the Operations Manager at Impact Northland Trust, where she runs youth programmes, supporting rangatahi to reconnect with community and participate in positive social activity.

“He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata. That’s what I live by. It’s people that matter.

Kia ora, my name is Linda Tiatoa. My background is in social work and education. Strength and joy is just knowing that I have a purpose. That I can contribute something to this community alongside others.

My heart has always been with young people. Being a sort of rebellious haututū (mischief) myself when I was a younger person was basically because I didn’t at the time see a purpose or I didn’t have a goal in mind or anyone to awhi (help) me.

Our entire team is built of people that are cut from that same cloth that just needed opportunity. And once they had been given an opportunity and the right supports we thrived. We’ve all got really incredible stories. That’s what’s helped me always keep going.

So a recent moment of joy was one of our young girls that has on and off struggled in the education system. And just seeing her blow up in life, like, just be one of these young people entering as a young adult into this new space, this new programme of ours and getting alongside other rangatahi and just hearing her kōrero like, ‘come on we can do this,’ like ‘you can do this, give it your best.’ The language that’s pouring out of this young girl has just been awesome.

That inspires me when young people can actually feel great about themselves and encourage their peers to give it their best.

And some of our rangatahi that have gone on as young adults to do really incredible things of their own and come back to see us and say, ‘hey’. We’ve had people call in with gift packs to say ‘I’m so grateful for your support and aroha.’

Basically it’s just the care that we put into them, that we actually care, we see you as a person. We see you, full of potential and you’re getting those things and that’s what makes all the bit of mahi that we do, worth it.”