“I was never really interested in politics but just had a heart for the community. From a young age I watched my older sister serve and was inspired to follow in her footsteps. When she left the Manurewa Youth Council I joined and took the role of Events Lead and later became the Chair. In June 2016 I was interested in running for the local elections in Manurewa. The chair of the local board had always supported the work I was doing and she invited me onto her ticket to run in the elections. I was overwhelmed when I found out I was voted in as a local politician for Manurewa. I mean I am only 20 years old and a couple thousand people believed in me and what I represented and were willing to give me their vote. My community work has always had to fit around my 9 to 5 job, but I wanted to have more flexibility to be able to spend more time in the community during the day so I decided to start my own business. Eventer is an events company and social enterprise that will aim to provide the most affordable wedding and event hire service in Auckland. It will provide work experience and employment to those young people living in Manurewa who might not be otherwise given this opportunity. I love mentoring young people, hearing their journeys and being a part of them. I hope what I do inspires other young people to be the best type of person they can be.”
