He was sentenced to home detention last month and granted permanent name suppression. The presiding judge also suppressed details of why she granted his application. <\/p>\n
As part of his sentence, the offender \u2013 who has convictions for abusing other women in almost identical circumstances \u2013 paid Sawyers $6000. <\/p>\n
She took the money to her local Pak\u2019nSave, purchased $100 vouchers and let her young son, nieces and nephew give every cent away. <\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want his bloody money \u2026 it represented one of the darkest chapters of my life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know the names of the people we helped. We don\u2019t know their stories. But we hope that around 60 families found grocery shopping a little less stressful that day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWatching those four kids hand money to complete strangers changed me forever. They didn\u2019t see strangers. They saw people. They didn\u2019t ask who deserved help. They simply chose kindness. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn the middle of the darkest chapter of my life, they became my light. They reminded me why I survived. They reminded me that no matter how much darkness exists in this world, there is always light if you\u2019re willing to look for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kim Sawyers gave away $6000: ” I didn’t want his bloody money”.<\/p>\n
After Sawyers\u2019 story was published, two people contacted the Herald to thank her for the vouchers they were given. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was one of the local women who received a support voucher from her. Even while Kim was enduring two decades of immense trauma and trying to survive, she still managed to look after people like me in our community,\u201d said Tracey Mcmillian.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was really struggling the day Kim gifted us; she didn\u2019t know my struggle, nor did she ask; she just said, \u2018from my whanau to yours\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer gift allowed me to afford petrol that week and a wee treat for my children.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mcmillian said there was a \u201cripple effect\u201d to Sawyers\u2019 \u201cquiet generosity\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cA teaching point on how much we overlook, and how you never know what hides behind someone\u2019s smile,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish I had hugged her that day \u2026 Thank you again for giving Kim a voice when the system tried to enforce silence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mcmillian has started a fundraising page<\/a> to help Sawyers, who has struggled to work, and with many other areas of her life, as a direct result of the offending. <\/p>\n \u201cBecause she protected us when she was at her lowest, the community wants to protect and support her now,\u201d the woman explained. <\/p>\n \u201cTo help Kim rebuild her life, handle ongoing costs, and find some financial relief, I have officially set up a Givealittle page for her \u2026 so everyday New Zealanders have a direct way to stand with Kim.”<\/p>\n A man who received a voucher from Sawyers and her family also spoke to the Herald.<\/p>\n \u201cMy wife, our children, and I were among the families Kim quietly helped when she gifted us a voucher. At the time, she didn\u2019t ask for recognition or expect anything in return \u2014 she simply wanted to help,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cSeeing her story has reminded us of that kindness, and I wanted you to know that the compassion she\u2019s shown extends far beyond what people are seeing in the headlines. <\/p>\n \u201cOur family was really struggling, and her generosity made a real difference. Reading the horrific reason as to why she was handing out those vouchers makes her kindness even more amazing.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is one courageous lady. Please let Kim know she\u2019s not alone and has friends in us for life.\u201d<\/p>\n Sawyers was heartened to hear from the people who received vouchers. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is fast becoming the most healing part of my story. For so long it was only about what was taken from me, but now it\u2019s becoming about what it\u2019s giving back,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had survivors reach out to me, family members of survivors reach out, and so many messages from complete strangers. <\/p>\n \u201cIt genuinely feels like New Zealand is behind me, and I never imagined I\u2019d be able to say that \u2026 That honestly means more than you know.<\/p>\n \u201cKnowing that speaking out is making a difference and helping other people feel seen, or find the courage to come forward has given my story a purpose I never thought it could have.\u201d<\/p>\n The Givealittle page is live and can be found here.<\/a><\/p>\n On the page, Mcmillian says of Sawyers:<\/p>\n \u201cShe is doing everything she can to hold things together, but it\u2019s been incredibly tough.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have no vehicle after it was transferred out of her name and Police took the plates.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve set up a Givealittle to help with essentials, transport, and basic stability for the kids. If you can help or share, thank you.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s show her we heard her voice, and she\u2019s not alone.\u201d<\/p>\n Anna Leask is a senior journalist who covers Christchurch issues and national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for more than 20 years with a particular focus on family and gender-based violence, child abuse, sexual violence and homicides. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime, released monthly on nzherald.co.nz<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"He was sentenced to home detention last month and granted permanent name suppression. The presiding judge also suppressed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":506993,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1903,4619,74,4995,1558,4057,1259,252766,16719,6637,49475,11521,9832,12125,30537,440,300,111,139,69,1118,28630,17524,252767,252765,17703,213,97,1886,14484,1316,1354],"class_list":["post-506992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-abuse","tag-act","tag-after","tag-away","tag-been","tag-behind","tag-community","tag-courtordered","tag-emotional","tag-gave","tag-givealittle","tag-harm","tag-helped","tag-kim","tag-kindness","tag-local","tag-money","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-of","tag-page","tag-rallies","tag-reparation","tag-sawyers","tag-sexual","tag-sports","tag-supermarket","tag-support","tag-survivor","tag-when","tag-woman"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=506992"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506992\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/506993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=506992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=506992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=506992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}A recipient of Kim Sawyers’ generosity now wants to give back to her.<\/p>\n