Three local residents made MNZM

Three northern and western suburbs residents – Johnsonville’s Fa’atili Esera, Khandallah’s Stacey Mendonca and Wadestown’s Christine Richardson – were made Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) in the King’s Birthday honours.

Mr Esera was made a MNZM for services to Pacific education. He was Principal of Mangaweka School from 1986 to 1990, Strathmore Park from 1991 to 1998, Raetihi School from 1998 to 2005, Petone Central from 2005 to 2014 and Sutton Park from 2014 to 2023.

Mr Esera established a Samoan bilingual class at Strathmore Park School. He is a founding member of the FAGASA Incorporated, a national organisation of teachers of Samoan. He was the National President of the organisation from 2005 to 2008, and from 2016 to 2023.

Mr Esera initiated Samoan Language Week in 2006 and established the annual Samoan language speech contest for primary and secondary students in 2007. He received an award for services to Samoan language by the Ministry for Pacific Peoples in 2021.

Mr Esera was a founding member of the New Zealand Pasifika Principals Association and has been a cultural advisor for Tautau o le Moana, an education programme to improve learning outcomes for Pasifika students through strengthening school leadership.

Ms Mendonca was made a MNZN for services to women.

In 1996, along with two other, Ms Mendonca established the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC).

She has been involved with NAWIC for 26 years, holding several roles including as the inaugural President, Secretary of the Wellington branch and as Chair.

The organisation has grown from one branch in Wellington to branches in Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Queenstown, Wairarapa and Otago, with more than 1,500 members.

She has organised regular events focused on technical and professional development, to inform and upskill women in construction, while promoting networking and information sharing.

She organised webinars during the Covid-19 pandemic and created Connecting in Construction, a group mentoring programme for the organisation.

Ms Mendonca contributed to the NAWIC Annual Excellence Awards, preparing citations, securing sponsorship, managing budget, coordinating judges and planning and execution of the awards ceremony.

In 2001 she received the NAWIC Lifetime Award.

Ms Richardson was made a MNZM for services to the Special Olympics and the community.

She has volunteered with Special Olympics Te Whanganui-a-Tara/Wel- lington for 14 years, currently holding roles as fundraiser, Treasurer and Tenpin Bowling Coordinator.

From 2012 to 2020 she chaired the organisation.

Between 2014 and 2019 Ms Richardson chaired the Special Olympics Lower North Island Regional Council and was a member of the Special Olympics New Zealand Board.

She scouts out and recruits new coaches, manages the club’s fundraising and communications and provides support for numerous tournaments.

She was Special Olympics Wellington’s Team Manager for two Special Olympics National Summer Games and recently co-ordinated fundraising and logistics for the Wellington team’s attendance at the 2022 Special Olympics National Summer Games in Hamilton.

Ms Richardson led the work for Special Olympics Wellington in establishing the club as a Charitable Trust, as required by the national body following a constitutional change.

She contributed to community activities in the 1980s and 1990s in areas including post-natal support, children’s safety and Amnesty International, and was a member of Wellington City Council’s Accessibility Advisory Committee for three years.

Ms Richardson was a founding member, Treasurer and archivist of EPOCH (End Physical Punishment of Children) New Zealand from 1998 to 2015.

Dr Sivagnanaratanam Sriramaratnam QSM. Photo: Supplied.