SENIOR NEW ZEALANDER OF THE YEAR 2012

 

 

 Malcolm Cameron

Malcolm Cameron of Dunedin is passionate about giving young people as many chances as necessary until they connect with their dreams and is concerned with the lack of job prospects currently available to them.   Despite being unemployed himself with no funding, but very capable, Malcolm through networking in the community with local businesses founded the Malcam Charitable Trust in 1985.  

He has since achieved considerable success in working with at-risk and disadvantaged young people.  Through establishing the Trust, Malcolm has created programmes that not only introduce young people to the world of employment, but also include community service components, education, life skills and challenging outdoor activities in the Otago Region.

The impact of the Trust is staggering. Over 80% of the young people involved in the programme go on to full time employment.  The Trust touches the lives of 40 to 50 thousand people a year and over 400 000 hours have been donated in voluntary time collaborating with other organisations to help build and maintain their presence in the community.

Malcolm is a serial social entrepreneur  who is always scheming up new ideas to address needs in the community, linking up with people who can help these ideas blossom and mentoring and supporting young upcoming social innovators.

Malcolm with the support of his family and staff has always maintained that he has been lucky and privileged to have had the opportunity to create the Trust however his goal remains to this day that he wishes that there was no need for the Trust to exist.

 

Senior New Zealander of the Year 2011 - Alison Neill

Alison Neill, of Fairlie, South Canterbury, has become known as ‘The Angel of Fairlie’ after founding Moreh, a residential facility providing free care for the elderly and infirm. Since Moreh opened, Alison has provided care in a homely and comforting environment for more than 300 people, never taking payment for her work. Without her altruistic dedication, many of the regions frail and sick would have to face the stress, anxiety, and uncertainty of relocating away from the community they know.

As a registered nurse, Alison set up Moreh in 1979 after spending time helping to look after a friend’s father who was blind and in poor health. Alison noticed that many of the older folk in Fairlie had to relocate to Timaru or Waimate to be cared for. She saw there was a great need to care for the elderly within the district and committed herself to doing something about it.

Before opening Moreh, Alison looked after several elderly residents within her own home where she could provide them with nursing care and companionship. But it soon became obvious that the community’s need was greater than her home could provide. When the Fairlie Cottage Hospital came up for tender, she was able to acquire it with a small amount of her own money along with a cash gift, a big heart, and a determined personality.

Because Moreh does not ask for payment or donations from its residents, it is not required to be licensed as a rest home and is free to operate like an ordinary household. Alison, the staff, and residents enjoy living together as a family rather than operating like an ‘institution’. The residents who use Moreh are cared for with dignity and respect in their final days and are able to pass away in a comfortable home surrounded by their friends and loved ones instead of being managed in a busy and unfamiliar facility miles from home.

Alison works tirelessly caring for her residents day and night despite being well past retirement age herself. She lives on site and as such provides care 24/7. This often means she is up many times on most nights attending to the needs of her residents, some of whom may be gravely ill.

Now in her 78^th year and older than some of her residents, Alison’s compassion is as strong as ever and the residents of Moreh feel very fortunate to be under the wing of the Angel of Fairlie.