Ana Apatu: Time to celebrate Flaxmere heroes

Ana Apatu.

Plans for Christmas lunch at Te Aranga Marae are in motion. We have volunteers offering to provide Christmas lunch for some of our families in Flaxmere.

A story was shared with me from a frustrated Well Child nurse about a family in Flaxmere who sleep in the lounge because their bedrooms are so damp. Their 3-year-old has developed asthma, the landlord resides overseas. Bill English is scheduled to meet with us to discuss the likely transfer of Flaxmere Housing New Zealand housing stock.

However, our big event this week is the launch of our Heroes calendar. This event originated from the 2007 hikoi Enough is Enough - a march from Flaxmere to inner city Hastings as a result of a home invasion. Tragically, it was Henare and Pam O'Keefe's daughter who was the victim when their home was invaded by three young men - a case of mistaken identity, the wrong house.

As a result of this, Henare instigated the Heroes calendar in 2009. This calendar is sponsored by Howard Dickson and Sandra Jessop of Totara Health. It is hand-delivered to every household in Flaxmere. The Heroes calendar is about recognising and celebrating the unsung heroes and heroines who reside in Flaxmere. In Henare's words, "it's about Flaxmere recognising the beauty and strengths within, and trumpeting it aloud from the rooftops". It's about valuing one another. It's about saying, yes, we know we have issues, but we have the solutions as well. This is a suburb that has its hand up, not out.

Some of our Flaxmere heroes include people who, in some instances, battle overwhelming odds on a daily basis. Two of these heroes featured in our 2015 calendar are Benjamin Evans and William Benson.

Benjamin is the Hawke's Bay International Taekwondo Federation regional director, and New Zealand Special Needs Taekwondo director.

In 2012, at the age of 17, Ben started Taekwondo for special needs at Flaxmere Primary School, and then later at Irongate Primary School.

His passion is working with youth at risk in low decile areas, some of whom have achieved their black belt and represented their country. Benjamin is a third-degree black belt, working to achieve his fourth degree by the end of this year. He has represented New Zealand at the International Taekwondo Federation, World Championships in Bulgaria (twice), Russia, Democratic People's Republic of Korea and international events in Australia and the UK.

William (Willie) Benson is another Flaxmere Hero. Since 1998, the Sun Devils Swim Club based in Flaxmere has been a force on the national stage. Under the mentorship of hard-working coach Willie Benson, a renewed culture has been instilled.

Since the club has been based in Flaxmere, Willie, along with Daniel Bell, has represented New Zealand at the Olympic Games. Willie believes the swimming club will soon produce another Olympian because the children he coaches are talented and hard-working.

Our calendar includes nominated students from Flaxmere schools. This year Flaxmere Primary nominated Vicky Fameitau. Vicky is the youngest of seven children who hails from Tonga. Vicki is currently a milk monitor, a fruit monitor, and a school road patroller.

All these tasks require commitment and organisation. Vicky often sacrifices her break time with her friends as she tidies up more than 500 cartons of milk that have been consumed by her fellow students.

Vicki aspires to be a teacher or a nanny as she loves working with children and helping them develop as individuals. Our launch will be held Tuesday November 18, at Te Aranga Marae in Flaxmere.

It provides a time where we all come together as one, and salute our very own. Every community needs champions, and these are ours.

-Ana Apatu is chief executive of the U-Turn Trust, based at Te Aranga Marae in Flaxmere