We step into some roles not for glory but because we feel called. To teach, heal, and walk alongside someone in their hardest season. But what happens when the cost of showing up exceeds what we are willing to give?
How can we uplift mana-enhancing spaces, by Māori for Māori, by Pasifika for Pasifika, when our hauora (mental, physical, financial) is stretched to its limits?
In Aotearoa, we ask students who train to become social workers, counsellors, teachers, nurses, and midwives to voluntarily dedicate months to unpaid placements.
Some students benefit from privilege, such as supportive parents, a partner to help bridge the gap, a grant, or savings. On the flipside, others experience fatigue from working over 40 hours a week, managing debt, and dealing with mental distress, all while bearing the weight of serving a system that’s not built for our survival.
I’ve been grappling with some thought-provoking questions over the past few weeks. How can we expect students, particularly Māori and Pasifika (as well as female students), to step up as representatives of our communities when the path to serve often requires us to do so without compensation? The heart of the work is rooted in whanaungatanga and alofa/aroha, yet the financial burden of becoming qualified falls on those of us already carrying the heaviest loads.
Why are the professions that are predominantly filled by women and vital to our collective well-being also the most undervalued? We hear about shortages in workers, care, and time. However, perhaps the issue isn’t a shortage at all but rather a system that demands too much while offering too little in return.
I don’t want to delve too far into politics, though the threads of these issues run deep. I just felt compelled to express my thoughts on the importance of fairness, the right to rest, and valuing the mahi that supports our whānau, tamariki, and future.
To everyone I’m talking to – those who have overcome it and those still enduring it – thanks for being warriors for our community. I see you, I appreciate you, and I stand with you.
Shanlivvy 