Philippa Stevenson: Breathless moments from young actors win hearts

COMMENT


New Zealand may be hoping for Lord of The Rings trilogy glory at next year's Academy Awards but the Waikato has already held an award ceremony of Oscar proportions, complete with a breathless Anna Paquin moment.

The young Kiwi star of The Piano wordlessly stole the Hollywood show when she received her Oscar for best supporting actress in 1993.

At the third annual Trust Waikato Child and Family Awards on Saturday night, a group of young actors were also a hit for their supportive roles.

The six leaders of The Acting Classes Te Aroha or Acta - Marama Killen, Chansina Chin, Jenna Powell, Hayden Ellis, Kerry Priest and Jordan Foulds - won the discovering new frontiers award for innovative service.

The group, aged from 13 to 22, tutor more than 50 children, some as young as 5, in acting techniques which are then put to the test in twice-yearly theatre productions.

Aptly for the Acta team, the awards were held at Waikato University's Academy of Performing Arts, but the young group clearly did not fancy their chances against the other finalists in the category that recognises courageous initiatives that improve life for Waikato children and families.

Giving just a taste of the range of services up for the awards, their competition was Kris and Paki Lawry of Te Awamutu's Kidz Club, who provide breaks for families whose children have special needs by organising community funded activities and outings.

The third finalist was the librarians of the South Waikato district, who have launched a Born to Read programme, which introduces mothers and their newborn babies to books and library services by giving them a bag of bookworm goodies soon after birth.

Momentarily stage-struck to hear their initiative had triumphed, the Acta youngsters silently beamed their delight before finding their voice to bring a roar of approval from a packed auditorium of 500 for their desire to nurture the children.

It was fitting that one of the awards to mark caring for children had gone to children.

Also apt was the evening's glamour and ceremony. How many of us have seen captains of industry taking top gongs and wondered whether the true heroes of our society were being sufficiently acknowledged. That is the genesis of the Child and Family Awards.

Trust Waikato chief executive Ken Gordon believes there is a strongly held view that work in the community sector is not real work.

The work of volunteers is often taken for granted by policy makers. Pay rates in the sector do not reflect the skills required to be successful or the emotionally demanding nature of the work.

So Saturday night was unsung hero night and the net had been spread wider than ever. More than 100 nominations rolled in from a region that took in the Coromandel and King Country as well as the Waikato.

It gave Commissioner for Children Cindy Kiro, who told the audience of her goals for her term of office, a good chance to see some of the Greater Waikato groups active in the same line of work.

For people already involved in supporting children and families, it was an opportunity to take a fun breather, sup well and network like crazy.

For onlookers steeped in headlines of child killings, family and institutional failures, it was a welcome antidote.

Nominee profiles in a glossy brochure and videos combined with lively and enlightening dinner table chat became a humbling experience, even for those already doing commendable works.

There was always someone doing more, better or differently. Ideas were replicating faster than amoeba in a Petri dish.

The award for outstanding leadership went to Parentline manager Gayle McLean, a social worker-therapist at the Hamilton organisation for 21 years.

Fellow Parentline fostering manager Jill Enid McMillan, who has spent 18 of her 32 years in fostering with Parentline, was one of two women to receive an outstanding lifetime contribution award.

Shirley Wass, of Hamilton, also received the award for her 19-year involvement with Parent to Parent, a support network for parents of children with disabilities or a range of conditions.

Safe and loving foster parenting got a well-deserved accolade when the Nordstrom whanau of four brothers and a sister - Jared, Arihia, Brigham, Colin and Kalem - received the top award for exceptional foster or respite caregivers.

Ngametua Goodwright, who helps Pacific Island children learn their culture, heritage and language, took the Shining Heart award for outstanding individual service.

Constable Norman McIntosh accepted the award for outstanding teamwork on behalf of Ngaruawahia police, who organise a summer youth holiday programme which routinely takes 560 children on outings.

Te Kuiti Youth aid officer Constable Chris Te Whare took top honours in the community collaboration award, and the Thames Baptist Church community support centre won the going-the-extra-mile award for outstanding organisational service.

The church's community chaplain, Roger Driver-Burgess, summed up the spirit of the awards.

"We are doing ordinary things. We can't do it alone so we do it together. It's doing the ordinary that makes the extraordinary."


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