Billie-Jo Pomare is passionate about whanau. PHOTO/ STEPHEN PARKER
Billie-Jo Pomare is passionate about whanau. PHOTO/ STEPHEN PARKER
This week's Rotorua Daily Post Newsmaker is Whanau Day and silent march organiser Billie Jo Pomare
Tell us about yourself: I'm passionate about my whanau, the community I live in and Maori success in education.
How did you get into your career? By accident. I didn't really know what I wanted todo, but I did know that I wanted to work with rangatahi (youth) and whanau, and in education.
What do you love about your job? I wear a couple of different hats, so in my mahi (work), I love working with rangatahi. They're cool. I really enjoy being able to work with them and their whanau and identifying what their educational aspirations are. From there, we find pathways that best suit them, to achieve those aspirations. In my community, I love the community I live in, which is Fordlands. We have so many whanau living in Fordlands, with many strengths and who are passionate about the Fordlands Community.
What have been your biggest achievements? My whanau. I'm so very proud of my whanau, where we have been, to where we as a whanau are now. I'm proud in the strength my whanau have, the kotahi-tanga (togetherness) and the aroha we have for each other.
What do you love about Rotorua? So many things! I love that everything is literally 10 minutes away, I love the lakes, I love my daughter and nieces' and nephews' kura, Te Kura o te Koutu. I love my mahi at Te Taumata o Ngati Whakaue, Fordlands Community and that most of my whanau live in Rotorua.
Tell us three things about yourself most people wouldn't know: I have heaps of cats (not necessarily by choice, they've been adopted by my child). I love music, especially New Zealand music, rap and hip-hop. I love Chevrolets. Especially '57 Bel Airs. They're cool.
