Letitia Dowie-Lewis (centre) is pictured with Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro and Minister for Children Hon Karen Chour. Photo: Dianna Thomson
Would you open your home to a child you didn't know? Letitia Dowie-Lewis has done just that, at least sixty times, sometimes with only half an hour's notice.
She is the 2025 recipient of the Excellence in Foster Care Award, New Zealand's highest caregiving honour, a title that was presented to her by Governor General Cindy Kiro.
The 53-year-old told RNZ Night's Maggie Tweedie that sheltering tamariki has been a lifelong calling, a passion she inherited from her parents.
"My parents were caregivers... I was brought up in the environment."
Growing up on Matakana Island, Lewis said her parents would often provide shelter for tamariki who ran away over the weekend.
And while she said her experience in that environment was incredibly rewarding, for a child it can also be a difficult adjustment.
That's why, she believes bringing a new child into the home, should be a family decision.
"I have children living with me that are foster children, we all make the decision together, and they all have to agree before a child comes into the house."
However, the experience can provide whānau members the chance to "learn about caring about other people besides yourself".
"You learn humanity... it changes your perspective on the world."
But while the role is incredibly fulfilling, it also involves a lot of hard work.
"You're a taxi driver because you're running them to doctors' appointments, to colleges, social workers, whānau.
"You're also a life coach, psychologist, a counsellor to these children."
The tamariki and rangatahi she fosters sometimes come from troubled homes. Challenges can include everything from bedwetting to violent behaviour.
"Some children will come in and not talk for a day or two, so they'll just sit and they observe often to see if it's a safe environment.
"You've got to adapt... for every child that comes in."
But the rewards, she said, are "absolutely huge", and include witnessing these youngsters flourish.
"Some may have been expelled... to see the complete turnaround, where they, within months, are succeeding at a new school.
"They get awards... finding that they're actually good at music or good at drawing, and they've been able to thrive.
"It's incredible."
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