On Friday, a vibrant and humorous Sir Ray Avery addressed the staff of twelve Rotorua primary schools at Glenholme School. His story is nothing short of amazing. Sir Ray has been honoured with numerous awards, including 2010 The Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year, and The Sir Peter Blake Leadership Medal. In 2011, Knight Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, and New Zealand's Most Trusted Person.
You might think that Sir Ray had a privileged background, but you would be wrong. Abused by his parents, he was taken into care at nine, enduring a harsh and violent life in British orphanages. At twelve he escaped, sleeping under a bridge for eight months. He kept warm on trains and in libraries, where the illiterate, dyslexic boy taught himself how to read, by asking someone what the words said, and then memorising the way each word looked. Finally, a badly infected cut led to his collapse, and he woke up in hospital.
A caring teacher who was contacted about him, is the person who changed the path of his life, by arranging training in a technical college, and this led to employment.
In 1973 he set out to explore the World, and after seeing that many people in the world were worse off than him, he arrived in New Zealand, and found himself at home. He has worked and invented products to provide health care, pharmacy, and eye surgery in underprivileged countries.
After a life of providing love and care to many strangers, Sir Ray finally found his own love, his wife Anna. They have two lovely daughters, who have inspired him to invent several products to support children dying of malnutrition, including an incubator.
Sir Ray said that the power of observation is the key to life. Plan a list of what you want to achieve in your life, and set dates to do them. Your focus must always be on people, and their needs, rather than the job or product you are trying to sell them.
This inspirational man is the author of his autobiography, "Rebel with a Cause", and his new book 'The Power of Us' which is the celebration of fifty outstanding New Zealanders.
"It's not the cards you are dealt, but how you play them," is the message in resilience for us all, from this sparkling sixty five year old hero.