Hone | Māngere East

“I grew up in Māngere East, which is a suburb of South Auckland. I live here still, and this is where my, my roots lie and grow, and I am part of the community in very various different ways. I’m involved in a local football club. I’m the chairman and club captain of the local football club and also manager of a community centre here in Māngere East. In my work and in my community one thing that I would like to see more of is hope for people in need.

One thing I need the most right now is hope for the future. I’ve got a small daughter. She’s two years old, and in my role in the community I see a lot of inequalities and injustices that are experienced by people, especially young people, and what I need most now is to know that she’ll grow up with a bright future with hope that she’ll be able to grow up strong and healthy, and pass that on to her children.

My passion is around helping and supporting other people to prosper and community development is my passion. Wanting community to thrive, but also lead that process in defining their dreams, but also their reality in how things transpire, very passionate about community-led development.

Through the work that I’m involved in the community over the past 10 years or so I have seen a decline in health and the local economy, and people struggling more to make ends meet, to live day to day, week to week, and supporting their families to thrive. Housing, income, the price of food, living has always been increasing I feel, over the last decade or so in particular, making things more difficult for people and families to really get by. During that time I’ve felt a decline in the sense of hope, and with the increase in inequalities, health outcomes for particular populations in particular where I live and where I work in Māngere East, we’ve seen that very clearly over the past number of years. I guess I want that reversed. I want to see a future that is full of hope, that has equal outcomes for communities, that is based on equity and love, and caring and sharing, and respect for one another. That’s what I want to see more of and I think that there’s opportunity and potential for that to grow. I want to be a part of that. That’s what I’m involved in my work, in my job and in my life, and I want that to spread.

Being a dad is life-changing. It’s fantastic. It’s something that I’ve looked forward to personally my entire life, and something that I’ve been working towards in a personal capacity. I’ve been lucky to have a fantastic upbringing with two great parents and a loving family. I see it as an opportunity to pass that on and want to see my daughter thrive and grow, and learn and also help others along her journey.

My community in Māngere East in particular my message would be around to use it as an opportunity to share and connect with other people in the neighbourhood. You know there’s great potential for that to be increased. It’s part of what we do at Māngere East Community Centre and what we encourage.

The stresses that Christmas and commercialisation of buying and consuming goods puts extra pressures on families, I think it’s all the more important to maintain and develop those connections with other people in the neighbourhood, and I encourage people to get out and get to know the neighbours better, join in and participate in community events, and get the most out of the season.”

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