Congratulations go out to ten staff members who were recently awarded a scholarship for the Graduate Diploma in Disability Sector Leadership!

With only 50 being awarded for the entire country, it’s fantastic to see 10 of those being awarded to Spectrum Care.

This is an example of how Spectrum Care really does ensure that every person with a disability deserves a life of choice, freedom and independence. This scholarship also pinpoints the strength of the commitment of our staff to the people they support. It makes the entire Spectrum Care whanau extremely proud. Tino pai everyone!

These staff members will now work towards completing the Graduate Diploma in Disability Sector Leadership, which will help them to work in the rapidly transforming disability sector as confident, competent, responsive and collaborative leaders.  The programme provides an opportunity for people with an undergraduate degree in a relevant field, or professional experience in the disability sector, to upskill in leadership and progress their careers in the sector.

We asked the recipients the following questions and have put up a selection of responses for you to read.

• What made you apply for the scholarship?
• What are you hoping to get from it and how will use it to help the people you work alongside?
• Tell me why you are proud to receive the scholarship and talk about the expectations and commitment associated with receiving it
• Do you have an inspirational quote you’d like to add? Or anything really, over to you.

Sanjay Kumar

My journey with people with disabilities began in 2002 when I joined Spectrum Care as a Community Support Worker. It has been an enigmatic, vibrant and intriguing journey for me for about twenty years. Working with people with a disability for a long period has given me so much cognizance about a range of human conditions that touch a deep vein inside me. It has lavished me with a lot of sensitivity and empathy for people with disabilities.

The grit and sheer audacity of Spectrum Care has given me the determination to continue working with people with disabilities. I acknowledge that working with people with disabilities may not be easy at times but I think that life is sterile without complications and despite all the adversities of my role, I find working with people with disabilities immensely rewarding and fulfilling.

Mental and psychiatric institutions in New Zealand disappeared a long time ago but its tentacles are still visceral to many people with disabilities, especially those who live in a group home. The statistics on quality of life measures for disabled people in areas such as health, open employment and housing is egregious. I am hoping that my training will help me to enhance the lives of the people I support.

“The strength of a swimmer is measured when he swims against the current”

Archana Ayub

I am someone who is really passionate about expanding my knowledge/experience as this gives me the confidence to work with people I support.

I believe that in the healthcare field, education never really ends. It is part of our job to stay up-to-date in our field. With this course, I can understand systems, policies and procedures better and will be able to support people more efficiently.

I am proud that all my previous studies (level 4, level 6 and level 7 all in the health care sector), experience and continuous hunger for learning something new has helped me to get to this opportunity.

I am a mother of a young baby. At first, I was having second thoughts about doing this study because of working full time and commitment towards my baby. And

I then remember what my mother always used to say to me “Get in the game, then decide how to play the game”. So yes, I don’t want to lose this opportunity and I will give my best.

And also I’d say my greatest strength is my tenacity. When I do something, I want to do it right, so I am willing to put in the time and effort to complete this study.

Sheena Reddy

I applied for the scholarship because it is an opportunity for me to upskill myself in this sector. When reading through the curriculum, the diploma covered aspects that would show me a new perspective and learn different approaches in leadership.

I am hoping to learn new skills and ideas that I can use and demonstrate for others that I work alongside. I am hoping to learn the most effective way to demonstrate leadership in my role and out in the community. To learn the best way to be able to advocate for social change.

I am proud to receive this scholarship because it’s an opportunity to learn and invest in myself and the sector. Continuing to learn and gain knowledge creates commitment to the best practice.

Mariaan Ellis

Confident and responsive leaders will be required for the rapidly transforming disability sector.  This newly designed qualification, with a limited number of seats available, immediately caught my eye as being a pathway to provide Spectrum Foundation and Spectrum Care with better skilled leaders for the sector.  And then, of course, being South African born, it would be cool to hold a New Zealand qualification.  I did not initially plan to enrol for this qualification but got inspired at literally the last minute.  (Thank you Simon for the support)

If I am able to sharpen my own skills and stay informed of the latest development and trends in the sector I am in a better position to upskill my team and make sure we deliver the training required to improve on the quality of service we deliver.  And of course, a new qualification, adds to one’s own marketability and portfolio.

I always encourage my team to broaden their knowledge and skill and believe that I should lead by example.  I am sincerely grateful for this opportunity as it had only been awarded to 50 applications from all over New Zealand.  It is an honour to have been selected to enrol for this qualification and in return, I believe that I need to be committed to completing the qualification to the best of my ability, transfer my skills to my team and make myself and Spectrum Foundation proud.

‘”Don’t look back. You’re not going that way.”

Piri Rutherford

We find ourselves at the precipice of huge changes in the disability services sector, and this course will give me a great opportunity for professional development, to equip me with better tools to navigate these changes. It will allow opportunities for networking, to allow for fruitful collaborations to occur for the benefit of disabled people. It will also give me a great base in understanding the various organisational and delivery models that exist across the sector, and be able to consider if they’d enable a more effective approach within Spectrum Care.

I am proud to have been selected for the scholarship and will work hard to maximise the benefits that it could bring, both to me professionally, and to those people who are supported by my services. I’m passionate about increasing access and social inclusion of disabled people in New Zealand and helping them achieve successes and surmount challenges in their lives, enabling confidence and resilience.

“A bend in the road is not the end of the road…unless you fail to make the turn”   – Helen Keller

Gillian Theunissen

I aspire to stay current and informed with developments across our sector and I’m an enthusiastc proponent of lifelong learning.

I’m so proud to be considered worthy of this scolarship.  I feel acknowleged and valued by my employer.  Expectations – leadership is a gap in my learning and I’m looking forward to improving my skills in this area.  Oneday I would absolutely love to serve on a board or in our new ministry on a voluntary basis.  I’m deeply committed to integrating our people fully into the mainstream and view myself as an enabler as well as a supporter of the disabled population.  To be quite honest, I loathe the word disabled.  Every single human being and other life forms have gifts and the ability to make our world a good place to be.

I’m committed to being a good student, learning and researching my topics to the best of my ability and sharing new ideas with my colleagues who are doing this diploma with me.

Maria Bernabe

People who are close to me call me Yeng. I’ve been working in Spectrum Care since January 2010 and as a house leader at Salisbury house since November 2010.

When I read the email regarding this scholarship that NZDSN was offering, I got really excited. I prayed and then submitted my application. I thought to myself that if I will be chosen, then this is a good challenge and at the same time, a chance to upskill. Since I chose to work in this sector (which is very much different from my qualification in my home country), I might as well make the most out of this and see the other dimensions in this field. I am so happy and proud to be given a chance to study for free and be one of the 50 recipients selected from all over NZ. It’s not every day that you will be given this opportunity. Whatever I will learn from this course, I will put them into practice and share them with my colleagues.