Ngāruawahia students nominated for Fred Hollows Humanity Award win VR tech for class

Ataahua Waitere (left) and Stu Mitchell from Ngāruawāhia's St Paul's Catholic School have been nominated for the Fred Hollows Humanity Awards. Photos / Supplied

Ngāruawāhia St Paul’s Catholic School students Stu Mitchell and Ataahua Waitere have been nominated for the Fred Hollows Humanity Awards for turning their personal challenges into a drive to make the world around them better.

The awards, now in their fourth year in New Zealand, recognise 10 young Kiwis in Years 5 or 6 who embody Fred Hollows’ values of compassion, integrity and kindness.

Stu and Ataahua have not won but, thanks to them, their school won three pieces of virtual reality (VR) equipment: A headset to take 360° virtual field trips, a Merge Cube to hold digital 3D objects and a circuit scribe kit. Every school that nominated a student went into a draw to win the equipment.

St Paul’s Catholic School teacher Bernadette Atkins nominated Stu and Ataahua. She says Stu lost a lot of his loved ones from an early age but was a “kind and considerate” student who always went the extra mile for his kaiako, fellow ākonga and whānau.

“Stu lost his father and grandfather when he was in Year 1. Then in 2022, he lost his cousin who was like a father figure to him. Recently, he lost his great aunt, yet Stu continues to have a positive outlook in life and go the extra mile,” Atkins says.

“He is constantly offering to carry teachers’ bags, open doors for them when he sees them coming, works in the school garden and finds any opportunity to be helpful. Stu turns up with a positive attitude each day and is keen to share another adventure that he and his mum have done lately.”

She says Stu also finds ways to engage his mum in his learning.

“For example, donating boxes and volunteering to bring a shredder in to assist with our rongoā packaging. Stu is an asset to our room and a vision of resilience.”

Madison Macmillan, a pupil at St Francis Xavier Catholic School in Whangārei has been named this year's Fred Hollows NZ Junior Ambassador.

Ataahua had surgery this year to remove a growth at the back of her ear.

“Ataahua returned with a positive attitude, keen to make the most of any opportunity. Some days she finds hearing difficult, but still she strives to achieve, spending time with the teacher aides learning or getting really close to ensure she can hear,” Atkins says.

“She is a brave, courageous student who perseveres, always has a smile, is helpful and lives up to her name’s translation - beautiful.”

The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ chief executive Dr Audrey Aumua, says the young New Zealanders who received Fred Hollows Humanity Awards this year have shown the compassion, initiative and courage to take action to make the world better for others, encapsulating the qualities of Fred Hollows.

“There are so many young New Zealanders stepping up to support their fellow students and communities and it is wonderful to recognise and encourage that,” Aumua says.

The winners of this year’s Fred Hollows Humanity Awards can be found online.

Hollows, born in 1929 in Dunedin, was an internationally acclaimed eye surgeon and social justice activist who championed the right of all people to high-quality and affordable eye care.

He founded the internationally operating Fred Hollows Foundation in 1992 and died a year later in Australia from cancer. The main goal of the foundation is to help end avoidable blindness.