Fostering hope and inspiration
She used to scour the cupboards for food and was once so hungry she had to eat just butter.
Former foster child Alisha Heath, 18, was 7 years old when she was taken into care after years of neglect.
The talented Blenheim singer is to be officially recognised in the Prime Minister’s inaugural Oranga Tamariki Awards for exceptional young people in state care.
She will meet Jacinda Ardern in Parliament today to receive her special award, which replaced the William Wallace awards. Watching will be proud foster mother Bernie Mullen; the woman whom Alisha calls ‘‘mum’’.
Mullen, who nominated her for the award, said she was ‘‘incredibly proud’’ of her daughter.
‘‘Alisha had been with us for a week and we were asked how long we would be able to make a commitment to her. I knew it was meant to be and didn’t hesitate. I don’t have a foster daughter – I am mum to a son and a daughter.
‘‘She was supposed to be with us for an initial six-month foster placement but we didn’t want her to leave.’’
Alisha said that before her foster placement she used to search the cupboards for food.
She had got used to missing school and trying to make her own lunches.
But her life took a turn for the better when she was placed into foster care through the Open Home Foundation.
‘‘The first thing I remember is getting a pink lunch box with a teddy in it I could colour in,’’ she said.
Social worker Liz Furness helped Alisha settle in with her new family. Eleven years on she is delighted to see the confident young woman Alisha has become.
‘‘The best outcome for a child is to stay with their parents and we want that to work but sometimes it just doesn’t.
‘‘It was a very hard thing to make that decision but she has done so well,’’ she said.
The former Marlborough Girls’ College student is set to begin training as a social worker in Nelson next year.
She credited Furness as her main inspiration.
‘‘It’s a massive thing to go through in your life and I know what they [children] are going through and will be able to reassure them that they will be OK, like it was for me,’’ Alisha said.
Alongside her husband and son, Bernie supported Alisha to follow her passion for singing and music.
The Marlborough Girls’ College teaching assistant said it had helped give Alisha confidence over the years.
‘‘As a young girl she really struggled to have positive memories of her past.
‘‘I remember this little girl who really wanted to be invisible and didn’t want people to see her.
‘‘She hid behind her hair and then in front of a music stand but gradually she managed without.
‘‘Alisha is a success story; her journey has just been awesome and we couldn’t be more proud of her,’’ she said.