Toward the end of 2017. Many people are struggling to find a home for their family, to find work and to earn income for their family and foods to feed their family, trying to stay away from drugs and booze and the list go further. .Is there any hope for them or not? We don’t know yet because there is no ‘magic ball’ to look at the future.
A long list of experiences where I work with many people and children such as disabled person to a family of a disabled member, convicted homeless people, gangs, refugee family even disabled refugee persons. Over thirty years, my role as a deaf community worker, a teacher aide/tutor, a Healthcare assistant, an Advocator for all people with disabilities and Deaf including refugee disabled people, I saw their lives with my own eyes and learnt from them.
Looking at our second ‘run down’ house on our property. There were so many lives there, and it tells us stories when we stripped one wall by one wall each day. We found much interesting stuff behind the walls and under the floors. Our second home built before the second war, and it habited for young farm hand men. I learnt about this home because it came from one of my ancestor’s family through my late father’s side family. Looking at Norman Kirk who he was related to my late grandfather’s mother side’s family. One of the comment, he made, was pledged to overcome poverty.
Here is another interesting article…. Mum of three children – poverty
Currently, I am working with one Social Service organisation, and there were so many homeless people, addiction people, financially broke/struggled to live on financial people, mental illness persons and people with disabilities coming and going from our organisation. It does not surprise me at all because I have been down the road before and a lot of people keep telling me about this if they assumed that I don’t know. The truth is yes I know, and I do not need an empathy or feeling pity for this kind of people who struggle for better lives. Sometimes I have been told that there is a lot of melting pot of cultures in one place… I travelled widely around the world and learnt a lot from them since 1981.
mmm so what! Is the question does anyone allow to give something or assist them as equal to other people or not? In Quran, there is an article on the concept of thankfulness in Islam. You need to learn to understand first and respect them who are Mulsim than to ignore them. Never take anything off such as foods off their hands, and this means you insulted them and they won’t take foods back. I have seen someone did this and a few women were not very happy with it. Never oppressed them or empower them in the class, In Spain or South America, it is a custom to give a gift giving from any new family or an officer in dealing with business.
In my earliest days, we have a family-friends for some years, and the father of this family worked and supported many ex-gangs and their families after the prison stays and finding jobs, budgeting courses and other courses. This man worked with two Maori ministers who we remember them very well for a very long time. I listened to their stories for many years and learnt from them. They kept in touch with me, and only one person is retired now.
We grew up with a solo mother with four young children, and our grandparents and great-grandparents gave us lessons such as in money-saving or to grow seeds from fruits and vegetables. To use recycled materials into something useful, cut out many buttons and used for recycling such as cushion button, making a Christmas tree filled in button decorations, learnt to knit and crochet children’s clothes and how to save waste foods into chutney, jams, compost for the garden. I use a lot of cookings from our gardens, and we grow a lot of vegetables and fruits for the people who are in need of food parcels, family when I visited and assisted them in their needs, many organisations who run food banks and for us.
Every Friday, I went to work and to find a few homeless men and women sitting under the tree in the car park. It was their peaceful place and a ‘waiting spot’ for them and when they are ready to walk into our work for their showers, lunch meals, food parcels and courses such as budgeting courses. We do have a Men and Women Shelter home, but it is a limited number of people who can come and stay a couple of nights or one night.
I recalled visiting a couple of homes where a couple can not afford to pay the power bill, and it was so freezing. They were living on benefits – under $500.00 a fortnight and the rent, food prices, phone and power bills were high than the benefit. They were to humiliate to ask for help publicly. We sat down together and talked about the problems. Finally, they admitted to me, and we visited WINZ, GP’s, power company and the landlord. Everything was sorted out by setting up a budget guide list. They set up automatic payments, to grow vegetables in the backyard where the landlord accepted that they could grow anything for foods and some extra assistance costs from WINZ which they have not thought about it due to staff’s failure on advise or suggestion if they need help or not.
The refugee people I came across in the past years (over 20 years), they went through the same situations as everyone else. Same stories for me! But their culture and beliefs are different from us; I learnt a lot from many Muslim people, Chinese people, Pakistani people, Spanish people even Laos people. One family – a Laos family, invited me in return of ‘thank you for assisting, supporting and teaching’ a young Deaf teenager son to their oldest son’s wedding. I was invited to their wedding because this Deaf teenager was no longer at High School. The Pakistanis family who also have an adult Deaf son and they took me as a ‘daughter/friend’ in their family for three years. They were Muslim too. We respected each other a lot and often they gave me some foods to eat and gave me some materials to passed on to another Deaf student. They taught me about their Muslim culture, Koran and beliefs. My gift was to helped their Deaf son to gain a better education and skill in carpentry in Hamilton. We still keep in touch as they were back in Pakistan nearly seven years ago. Today I am supporting and assisting one Muslim Somalian Deaf lady for her needs, and she was pleased to have someone who understands her culture and to communicate in sign language. She is one of these people who struggle with financial needs, foods, personal needs such as clothes and language barrier BUT she is lucky to have a good home with flashing lights for her safety needs and great neighbours to keep an eye on her. Often she gives me something in return in about three months or a year later. That is fine for me.
One Deaf family who have two children and they are struggling daily needs, BUT they learnt something from me six years ago. My skill was to teach them to grow vegetables in the backyard, taught to the Deaf man for his literacy in prison and gave him a job which was successful. He looked for work for a year after his prison stay. I provided them counselling where I refer to one minister who has sign language, a qualified counsellor, worked in prison as a prison chaplain and a teacher back in Africa via England which I met this minister nearly ten years ago. Yes, this family of two children, gave me something back in the way of saying thank you and I told them that they don’t need to give me back last year. They insisted this and keep in touch from time to time when they are in trouble or struggle or just to have a ‘good yarn’ of chat over coffee. My skill in teaching lessons to them had been passed on to their friends where their friends are living in poverty and financial struggle.
Where ever I go anywhere! I give them something like an appreciation, thankfulness or a small token of gifts for the family as equal to everyone. I do not need anything in return from them, JUST a word to say Thank you for helping me, supporting me, encouraging me or a note to say from them if they have no money or gift to return.
Life in Eureka 
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