Lena told the Rotorua Daily Post bringing a baby home was a \u201chuge change\u201d and they had to adjust.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were dynamics within the family at that time, but I think we just put one foot in front of the other and just did what we had to.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a \u201cgrieving process\u201d for their former lives. Lena had started a nursing diploma, and continued studying full time between daycare runs.<\/p>\n
Keira arrived in her new home with a condition that caused her to withdraw for short periods, but Lena said she adjusted well to her new environment.<\/p>\n
They had to \u201cstep up\u201d for Keira\u2019s education, as learning difficulties emerged.<\/p>\n
When she was 8, she could not read and hated maths, \u201cbut she memorised things\u201d, Lena said.<\/p>\n
Her grandparents supported her through diagnoses of dyslexia and its numbers equivalent, dyscalculia.<\/p>\n
Lena said Keira also had autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and Irlen syndrome \u2013 a perception processing disorder.<\/p>\n
Keira attends Rotorua Girls\u2019 High School, where she has additional wraparound learning support, and also receives private home tutoring specialised for people with learning disabilities.<\/p>\n
Lena said her reading achievements were now \u201cout of this world\u201d. She was also good at art.<\/p>\n
Keira had grown \u201cimmensely\u201d and adapted \u201cquite well\u201d as a teenager.<\/p>\n
She had regular visits with her biological parents and siblings.<\/p>\n
Lena graduated with her diploma in 2014 and retired from nursing during the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
She said she and Phil would not change anything about their decision to take Keira in.<\/p>\n
Supporting other caregivers <\/p>\n
Lena joined charitable trust Grandparents Raising Grandchildren and became a committee member, before becoming involved with Caring Families Aotearoa in 2019.<\/p>\n
She and Phil volunteered as regional committee members for Caring Families Aotearoa for five years, helping to organise caregiver connection events in their area.<\/p>\n
They ran a support group for Rotorua caregivers and planned to set up a group of experienced caregivers who could share their knowledge with others.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve just been very proactive in a lot of organisations that are helping with \u2026 raising other people\u2019s children,\u201d Lena said.<\/p>\n
She and Phil were also Kids in Need co-ordinators.<\/p>\n
Rotorua grandparents Lena and Phil Stirrup have raised their 13-year-old granddaughter Keira since she was 1. They received the Excellence in Foster Care award on March 6. Pictured are Phil Stirrup (left), Minister for Children Karen Chhour, Caring Families Aotearoa chief executive Linda Surtees and Lena Stirrup. Photo \/ Dianna Thomson<\/p>\n
On March 6, the Stirrups received an Excellence in Foster Care award, presented by Minister for Children Karen Chhour and Caring Families Aotearoa chief executive Linda Surtees at a ceremony at Parliament in Wellington.<\/p>\n
They were one of 10 caregiving couples or individuals selected by Caring Families Aotearoa and its partners for going \u201cabove and beyond\u201d to provide a safe and therapeutic home for children in care, a statement from the organisation said.<\/p>\n
Lena said she and Phil were the only recipients from Rotorua, and it was \u201cepic\u201d to receive the award.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the feeling was like, why us? There were so many other people that were well deserving. But we saw what we had done over the years for our moko [grandchild] and our community, so we did take it humbly.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just was uplifting and it just made me feel like I needed to strive further to make sure that \u2026 carers have support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lena said their kaupapa was to \u201ccarry on and be the people we are and just do what is needed for our community\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe feel very honoured and very privileged to be part of the carers\u2019 lives and to watch their tamariki flourish and nurture.\u201d<\/p>\n
Surtees said Lena and Phil were \u201cextraordinary people\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201c[They] inspire us \u2013 and all care agencies \u2013 to continue striving to provide the support caregivers need to help heal our tamariki and give them the future they deserve.”<\/p>\n
Kids in Need Waikato co-founder Linda Roil said it was \u201camazing\u201d for the Stirrups to be acknowledged for their work.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were foster carers too and \u2026 sometimes you don\u2019t feel appreciated at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roil said she met the Stirrups at a Caring Families Aotearoa conference, and Kids in Need had supported them with their granddaughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we were looking for a co-ordinator for Rotorua, they were the first people I thought of. They\u2019ve got the heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roil said the couple distributed Kids In Need care packages in Rotorua for her, and ran a monthly coffee group for caregivers and grandparents raising grandchildren.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t think of any better facilitators for that than them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The charitable trust was seeking funding for its recent expansion to Rotorua, Roil said.<\/p>\n