For 38-year-old veteran Dr Ellen Joan Nelson, being named Local Hero of the Year Te Pou Toko o Te Tau at the New Zealander of the Year Te Pou Whakarae o Aotearoa Awards is “a real privilege to [be recognised for] what our team has done together”.
The Manawatū mother-of-two was recognised at the annual awards ceremony, hosted by Toni Street and Scott Morrison, on Thursday night in Auckland.
She told Stuff the evening was a great opportunity for the team to “celebrate what we did”. While Nelson was celebrated as the local hero on the night, she insists the work put in to bring 563 Afghan refugees to New Zealand was a collaboration of a number of people that “worked together”.
Having served in Afghanistan 12 years ago, in a team of Kiwi soldiers and Afghani locals, Nelson’s work began after the Taliban’s shock return to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
Visa applications with interpreters for several hundred refugees came next and Nelson was then contacted by two people – Chris Parsons and Martin Dransfield – who wanted to help and became invaluable team members.
“Slowly but surely, we managed to get all 563 people to New Zealand.
Nelson attended the awards with family members, supporters, team members and one of the Afghan refugees that she helped bring to New Zealand.
She had booked her table for the event before she was announced as a finalist, figuring it was the perfect opportunity to celebrate together with the team.
The Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Awards have been held annually since 2010 and celebrates New Zealanders of all walks of life in seven categories, including Community of the Year, Young New Zealander of the Year and the coveted New Zealander of the Year.
Credit: stuff.co.nz
