Napier caregiver wins Oranga Tamariki Excellence in Foster Care award

Dorothy Waitoa proudly holds her Excellence in Foster Care award. Photo / Warren Buckland

Dorothy Waitoa is family for a now 15-year-old boy who has never known the meaning of one.

Waitoa was one of 17 caregivers from across the country who were recognised at the Excellence in Foster Care Awards at Government House in Wellington, on March 6.

Youth Horizons caregiver Waitoa, from Napier, has been a foster carer for the boy for nearly four years and says when he came to her he needed "specialised care".

"He came to me when he was 11, he was in residential care with his mother before that," Waitoa said.

"His dad was in jail, his mum was a P addict. He needed a lot of love and support. He's Maori, but he didn't know anything about his culture. My first job was to keep him safe."

She said the boy had not been to school for two years and had no social skills.

"He was also very, very thin and he never ate much, his health wasn't the best."

Waitoa had to teach the boy how to eat three square meals a day, because he wasn't used to getting them.

"In the first five days he was with me I noticed he wasn't eating his lunch, and I asked him why.

"He asked me whether he was going to be getting lunch every day, and I said yes, of course. He had been saving his food."

To combat his lack of schooling Waitoa enrolled him as soon as she got him.

"He was really anxious to begin with. He was used to being in a box, in small spaces, because they [his parents] used to lock him up."

Now he is an accomplished young man and wants to become a mechanic.

"He has become a confident boy. He is one of our whanau now, and now my goal is to get him to stand on his own two feet."

Waitoa said she was humbled to receive an Excellence in Foster Care award.

"I am really proud and honoured. I didn't expect to win the award, and I was humbled."

The job of foster caring was not a typical 9 to 5 job.

"It takes commitment and it's hard work, but when you see the sparkle in his eyes, it's worth it."

Hosted by Oranga Tamariki and Caring Families Aotearoa (formerly Fostering Kids New Zealand), the awards are held annually.

At the awards Oranga Tamariki chief executive Gráinne Moss said they celebrated the fact the agency understood being a caregiver was not easy.

"It requires patience, sacrifice, resilience and strength. These are the traits we admire in today's winners and encourage in all our caregivers," Moss said.

"The incredible group that we are celebrating are hugely influential in helping to shape a New Zealand where tamariki and rangatahi grow up in supportive and loving environments."

Caregivers were nominated for the awards by their social workers, fellow caregivers and members of the community.

The recipients were determined through an assessment of each nominee's length of service, team approach, commitment to learning, relationship with the child's family, and role as a leader or mentor to other carers.