Supporting others through lived experience
“Before I joined Kaikaranga as an employee, I first came to them as a parent trying to navigate the world of disability support.
When my youngest son was born four weeks early, my husband and I were told he might not survive. What followed were years of hospitals, appointments, and learning how to adapt to life caring for a child with complex needs. I stepped away from a career of more than 20 years to care for him full-time as our family adjusted to a future very different from the one we had imagined.
As his needs shifted from acute medical care to longer-term disability support, we were referred to Kaikaranga.
By that point, I was exhausted from constantly retelling our story to different services and agencies. I expected another difficult process. Instead, I experienced something completely different.
When my Connector from Kaikaranga came to our home, I felt relaxed. She understood us. She understood the barriers. She asked the right questions and gave us the right information.
What stayed with me was not just the compassion, but the feeling of being genuinely understood during a really overwhelming time. It showed me how deeply people at Kaikaranga care. That experience stayed with me.
As my son became stronger and more settled in preschool, I started thinking about returning to work. But after everything our family had been through, I wanted to be part of empowering people and whānau, of connecting people to the supports, services, and opportunities that could make life feel more manageable and more hopeful.
So when I saw a role advertised at Kaikaranga, I applied.
When new joiners start at Kaikaranga, they are welcomed with a whakatau. My husband and children were invited to my whakatau with me. My husband said to me afterwards, ‘You should stay here. This feels like a really good place.’
Today, my lived experience shapes the work I do every day. I understand the challenges families face, the emotional weight that can come when explaining what everyday life looks like, and how important it is to feel listened to.
What makes this place special is the genuine care people have for one another, both for the whānau we support and the teams we work alongside every day.
For me, this isn’t just a job. It’s meaningful work where lived experience becomes a strength, connection sits at the centre of what we do, and you have the chance to make a real difference in people’s lives.
Kaikaranga helps change lives. I know because it changed my own.”