Watch Matilda's story below: When Matilda was diagnosed with dementia a few years ago, her whānau knew straight away what mattered most helping her stay in her own home in Ōpōtiki for as long as possible. She’s always been strong-willed (and still is!), and with her health otherwise in good shape, the family wanted to make sure she could keep her independence, while still having the right support around her. That’s where her son Chris stepped in. With the help of SupportNet,

Image description: Áine(they/them) seated at the front of a room full of Manawanui staff with Simon assisting her, seated at her side holding a microphone. At  our recent Team Day, we were joined by Áine Kelly-Costello(they/them), a Manawanui customer. They shared their perspective on disability support and the role of Individualised Funding hosts. Their kōrero was thoughtful, grounded in lived experience, and offered valuable insights for our team. Tēnā koutou. Nō Aerana, nō

Sam is a bright and passionate young man with a love for all things geological. From polished quartz to treasured pounamu, Sam has long been fascinated by the natural world - his bedroom filled with dazzling stones and crystals, a testament to his enthusiasm. Keen to turn this lifelong interest into a business, Sam (with support from his mum, Melinda) applied to Manawanui’s Fund for Good to help bring his idea to life: Sam Rocks, a small business offering tumbled stones and h

Margot has always loved being outside, feeling the wind on her face, going over bumpy trails, and being part of the action. As Margot has grown, getting out and about for family adventures has become more challenging. Margot has high and complex needs, including being non-mobile, which means she relies on specialised equipment to get around. While her wheelchair is great for everyday use, it isn’t built for rough terrain, making many outdoor adventures difficult. Her family w

Resilient, Determined, Compassionate. These three words perfectly capture John’s spirit. John loves spending time with his loyal pet, Rambo, and enjoys gardening, swimming, and watching documentaries. But beyond his hobbies, he’s driven by a desire to lead a more fulfilling life and create something meaningful for his community. After successfully running a Japanese restaurant in the CBD for over a decade, John faced a life-altering diagnosis of Moya-Moya disease. This led to

For 14-year-old Sam, biking isn’t just a hobby, it’s a vital part of his well-being. Living with autism, OCD, and severe anxiety, Sam has found cycling to be a soothing and grounding therapy that helps him self-regulate and experience independence. Being out in nature brings him immense joy and a sense of calm. However, Sam’s old second-hand bike, without pedal assist or suspension, limited him to flat terrain and prevented him from fully exploring the trails he loves. Suppor

Mikko’s journey hasn’t been easy. He developed epilepsy at the age of 12 and, despite trying different medications over the past four years, hasn’t had success in reducing his seizures. Now 16, Mikko experiences multiple tonic-clonic seizures every day. Along with his epilepsy, he is also autistic and has a language disorder, which means his family carefully manages his care and well-being. Mikko’s neurologist expressed concern that he is at risk of SUDEP (sudden unexpected d

A stroke may have impacted their lives, but Graeme and Laurian aren’t letting it get in the way of their 55-year love story. Laurian, 72 met Graeme when she was just 15, they got married in 1969 and have three children and 12 grandchildren. They were dealt a tough blow when Graeme suffered a stroke in 2009. Graeme was doing alterations to their home when he noticed something was wrong. He couldn’t move his left arm to help him get up, so the couple went to the doctors, and it

Introducing the amazing Nathan Pearson! Nathan loves photography and all things equestrian. His passion for horses began at aged four when he saddled up for riding lessons at Greenhithe Riding for Disabled in Auckland. Nathan was born prematurely and faced challenges that resulted from cerebral palsy, making him a regular wheelchair user. From a young age riding horses was almost like his weekly physio - Nathan’s Mum Natalie Pearson said she had never seen him sit and stand s

Dikina (pictured left) with her wonderful family. Dikina is 24 years old and lives at home with her Mum, Wendy and wonderful sisters. For the last few years, Dikina has had her mind set on getting her learners driver's license.  All of her sisters (even the younger one) have their drivers licenses and Dikina doesn’t want to miss out! Dikina needs to get to her place of work early in the morning as well as sometimes working night shifts. Understandably, she feels unsafe catchi

Esther Bramwell lives in a tiny home with her parents and two younger sisters. As she is getting older and has auditory processing needs, Esther has been asking for her own space and claims she is old enough and clever enough to build it herself! Although Esther struggles with learning, she is strong and has an innate understanding of what is required when she has helped her family with building projects. Esther is happy and mentally stimulated when she works on a physical an

Image of Rachel with daughter Molly Whilst being a wheelchair user, Rachel Peterson has not only excelled as a mother of two but also as a successful entrepreneur and disability advisor.  Born with Muscular Dystrophy, Rachel is grateful for the approach her parents took from the moment she sat in a wheelchair. “Doctors told my parents I’d never lift my head off a pillow and that they should consider putting me in an institution. But they were having none of that,” she says. S

Introducing Braxton! Braxton lives with his Mum, Nicole and 2 siblings who love to go on family bikes rides. Braxton has ADHD and a bladder and bowel disability, which means he can only walk or bike for around 5-10 minutes before he gets too tired and sore. His muscles are very weak, and this makes him frustrated that he can’t properly join in. Being able to partake in regular light exercise would help build Braxton’s confidence. As he is growing up, his disability has impact

(Aaron is the one sitting down with the red and white striped shirt – taken during a show rehearsal) Introducing successful Fund for Good recipient, Aaron Richardson. Aaron is a talented and generous person, extremely knowledgeable in the world of arts including film, tv, stage, visual art and voice. Aaron suffers from diabetic retinopathy with fluctuating levels of blindness (almost total blindness with occasional patches of blurry vision) and diabetic nephropathy (chronic k

Introducing rock star and Fund for Good winner Max Bennett! Max is an incredible talented musician and loves playing the guitar, drums, singing and writing songs. Since joining Manawanui, he has become part of a band and made some amazing friends who have encouraged him to get into song writing. Max has ADHD, OCD, GAD, ASD, DSF and SPD – maybe all these acronyms help fuel his creative talents. He  has a box full of songs he has written but to record his music he prodigiously

Introducing the one and only Oakley Curley! Oakley loves swimming, messy play and most of all playing with his siblings. Oakly is just over a year old and lives with Mum Monique, Dad Paul, sisters Tiger Lily and Savanah and brothers Odin and Loki (pictured below). When Oakley was three weeks old, he was diagnosed with unicuspid aortic valve with critical stenosis and severe regurgitation which required open heart surgery. Following this, he was able to return home briefly for

Renee loves music, dancing, doing puzzles, gardening and.... chickens! Ever since she was a little girl, Renee has always been fascinated by chickens, from holding the baby chickens at the A&P show to experience at school incubating eggs and caring for the baby chickens as well as time on her Nana and Grandad’s farm feeding the chickens and collecting eggs (pictured below). Renee is 18 years old and lives with Mum Alison, Dad Leon and her twin sister Hollie. She was born with

With financial support now available for NZQA training, there’s never been a better time for support workers to upskill and get qualifications that really count.   Getting a Certificate in Health and Wellbeing is a really useful qualification for support workers who are focused on self-directed support and is a great way to boost the confidence and skills of your staff while they support you. At Manawanui, we want to make things as easy for you and your support workers. We ha

Manawanui’s Fund for Good is an innovation programme which awards grants to help fund big ideas that cannot be funded through Individualised Funding or other funding sources. It’s all about self-direction and one of the ways that Manawanui, as a social enterprise, reinvests profits into initiatives that give customers choice and control about how they live. We want to say a massive thank you to everyone who applied for the 2023 round of Fund for Good – the judging panel had a

We recently attended a show that was out of this world! Created by the incredibly talented crew at the Smoky Mirror Arts Company(SMAC), Galactic Grooves was a show filled with dance numbers and costumes that were simply stellar, Interstellar! The Rose Theatre on Auckland’s North Shore was the perfect intimate venue for the show, providing a safe environment for the performers that seemed to thrive off the interactive and enthusiastic crowd. Galactic Grooves tells a story abou