This year two PSA members were nominated for Spirit of Service Awards in the Young Leader of the Year Award, including this year’s winner Saunoa (Noa) Samasoni, and Oliver Szabo.
Saunoa (Noa) Samasoni
Noa has worked with Kainga Ora Homes and Communities for seven years. Following the Auckland floods she was transferred to work within the Property and Affected Household team.
Having been involved in the Auckland flooding initial response team this was a natural progression for Nao who is based in Mangere and saw the flooding impact first hand.
“We created a team out of nothing, there was a dedicated response team set up straight away so that people could be responded to at all times. Once the initial crisis was dealt with, it was time to help people get back into their homes. I always wanted to work in my community, but never thought I would be doing this.”
A humble recipient
Nominated by Noa’s manager, Noa has been described as “the movement”and Nao humbly admits that is an accurate reflection of who she is.
“I want to make change, I constantly work hard, and am resilient. My role is varying from day to day but whether it’s dealing with contractors, maintenance partners, weather or deadlines, no day is the same and it can be extremely challenging.
For Noa this nomination is a recognition of the long hours, the emotional impact, and the hard work she has put in has been seen. But the “biggest reward when people get to return to their homes, knowing we played a part in that makes it all worthwhile,” she said.
Oliver Szabo
Oliver works at Ministry of Justice (MOJ) as a Health, Safety and Security Advisor and he was was nominated because of his work on the disability network at MOJ.
“Three years ago, MOJ were looking for volunteers, when there wasn’t a huge take up, I ended up coconvening the network,” he said.
Oliver helped establish the network, develop the terms of reference, shared stories, and run awareness events. With his support, the network is helping workers at MOJ by contributing to projects like Kia Toipoto the pay gap action plan. The network is also helping members of the public by ensuring they have reasonable access to buildings.
“I can’t believe to this day that I was nominated for the award. This work has created such a community and
that in itself is a real highlight. It has enabled people to feel like they have a safe place and that they are not alone.”
Accepting disability
Oliver suffers from constant migraines. Being in pain every day led to mental health issues, and also to eventually identifying that his chronic illness is a disability. Accepting his disability was a journey, but with it came an insight and an ability to do his part.
“I realized that I could make a difference. People see me as this able-bodied person, but what they don’t see is what I am dealing with pain every day. It taught me that there is such a misunderstanding of the disabled community and that I need to help fix that misunderstanding.
“Just because someone can stand, walk and talk doesn’t mean there isn’t a story behind them. You need to take the time to learn the person’s ‘why’.”
Which is why Oliver's next project is so important
“When someone walks into a court, you don’t know what is going on with them. We see many people with
head injuries or learning disabilities – these are unseen disabilities. This can add to what is already an extremely stressful situation. I am working on getting the Sunflower Project put in place across the Ministry of Justice,” Oliver says.
The Sunflower Project lets people with unseen disabilities make themselves easy to identify by wearing a green sunflower lanyard.
People who are trained to help those with unseen disabilities are identified by a green badge.
