Excellence in Leadership & Community Development

The Sir Peter Blake Emerging Leaders Award for 2009 is an award that has been given to Cook Islander, Pastor Alfred Ngaro of Auckland, New Zealand.

Being recognized by prominent people like Stephen Tindell, Mark Gosche, Michael Jones and Pat Sneedon for a prestigious award such as the “Sir Peter Blake Emerging Leaders Award for 2009” is exactly what Cook Islander; Pastor Alfred Ngaro of Auckland deservedly was given on the 26th June 2009 aboard the NZHMS Frigate in New Zealand. It is an award that is presented by the late Sir Peter Blakes wife, Lady Pippa Blake who apparently flew in from London to bestow such an award upon Pastor Alfred Ngaro.
The work that has gained recognition of such a prestigious award for Pastor Alfred Ngaro is the ‘Tamaki Transformation Project’. Tamaki is the poorest area in New Zealand. It has a population of 17,000 people of which 50% are of Pacific Island descent, 30% are of Maori descent and the remaining 20% are of other nationalities.
Pastor Ngaro tells the Herald, that Tamaki is tagged as being the area of ‘Poor People or Brown People’. This type of stigma is a reality that Pastor Ngaro is confronted with and has to deal with on a daily basis and hence the birthing of the ‘Tamaki Transformation Project Concept. What is extraordinary about the Tamaki area says Pastor Ngaro, is the fact that Tamaki is surrounded by communities of affluence or wealth such as Howick, Remuera, and St Heliers. These are communities of people that are amongst the wealthiest in New Zealand, yet in the centre of such wealth is a centre of poverty.
To work amongst such high needs, high unemployment and high crime statistics requires much tenacity, understanding and balancing of power between the various places of influence; be it government, pacific communities or the private sector says Pastor Ngaro. It is an area, says Pastor Ngaro that I believe I have been called to serve the Lord.
The model created for the Tamaki area has been two years in the making. It is a model that has had to create a community development framework and a collaborative leadership approach while embracing the diversity of the Pacific and Maori communities. It has attracted $200 million from the government via various government departments including Housing New Zealand, Social Development, Economic Development, Environment and Urban Design just to name a few.
Pastor Ngaro says that it is important to remember that any set of options or solutions needed to resolve such poverty should always be around ways that unite a community not divides them. Trying to find such innovation, inspiriting and inspiration can be challenging but when you include the indigenous component of whom we are, these things can be achieved and with divine support and encouragement from the Lord anything is impossible.
He attributes his achievements for the award from the many people who have believed in his ability to do what he does. These include his lovely wife and children, grandmother the late Mama Rita Tepaki who left notes of encouragement for him by selecting key verses from the Bible. It seems like she had my future all planned out says Pastor Ngaro as I am doing it right now.
Pastor Ngaro has an electrical engineering background and a theological degree from Bible College of New Zealand. He has served the Tamaki Community Church for 20 years and Tamaki Community Trust for 16 years. His visit to the Cook Islands was a result of being invited to attend the recently held Health Conference of which he became the officiating Orometua to bring refreshing words to the participants both at the beginning and end of the conference days.

Herald Issue 463 10 June
- World famous activist assisting residents
- Budget will decide if residents prosecute Government over landfill
- Forestry project sucking Mangaia dry
- Budget 2010 – fiasco or disaster?