Global Kiwi

Rotorua born Emma moved to the UK in 2003 to do her traditional Kiwi OE. She had every intention of coming home once her two year visa was up but somewhere during those 24 months she met her future husband and settled in the North London borough of Enfield. Emma was busy with her job and her two young children when in 2011, Enfield found itself  in the center of the London Riots. 

“The day the riots started my parents had just arrived from New Zealand and I was taking my mum for a walk around the neighbourhood. We saw all these people running past some with masks on and dogs and mum was wondering what sort of area I lived in. That night we had to barricade our door and it was really terrifying. I realised then that I had no idea who my neighbours were, I had two young children and we were scared and locked inside and there was no one I could reach out to for help or support.”

Emma says after the riots were over she had a burning desire to make a difference and that’s how ‘Love Your Doorstep’ was born. The organisation started out as a community facebook page but quickly grew to a fully fledged business. Eleven years on it has a community of 30,000 members and is funded through membership from around 750 local businesses and organisations. 

The business model has allowed ‘Love Your Doorstep’ to run a variety of community projects including a youth crime project which saw 80 community volunteers patrol the streets for more than two years to protect children from being mugged when walking home from school, a project which saw Emma nominated for the British Citizens Award, and later became part of the nomination for her British Empire Medal.

Running such a large community business, including a social media forum is a lot of hard work and something Emma says she takes very seriously.

“You really have to put in a lot of work to moderate community forums and make sure all the information posted is correct, we have very strict guidelines on posting, we want people to be able to trust the forum and know that the advice they are getting is from reputable sources and is accurate.” 

Making sure up-to-date and correct information was readily available was particularly important during the pandemic. Emma says the strong ‘Love Your Doorstep’ community network allowed her and her team to quickly step up and help lead the Enfield community response to the pandemic.

“Because we already had the network in place we mobilised more than 600 volunteers very quickly and co-ordinated and brought together 70 community groups. We moved donated food to where it was most needed and also collected donated laptops and got those ready for kids to use for home learning. Because of the structure and trust we had developed with ‘Love Your Doorstep’ people knew they could turn to us and we would have correct information and the right support.”

“What ‘Love Your Doorstep’ has created is a safe place to come and talk, communicate about local issues, to get the help and advice you need. If something like the Riots were to happen again I think people wouldn’t feel as vulnerable. We have such a  strong support network in Enfield now, everyone knows who everyone else is, they have met via our facebook group and in person at our local events. it’s really brought the community together in a way that I didn’t think possible.”

‘Love Your Doorstep has won multiple national awards and this month Emma found out she was on The 2022 New Years Honors list and was being awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) The medal is a Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown. Emma says finding out she was going to be named as a recipient was a real shock. 

“When I heard about the award I thought it was a joke. This really fancy letter arrived from the  British Prime Minister’s office asking me if I would consent to being put forward to the Queen for the BEM. Thinking about it I still get shivers because yes, I have worked incredibly hard but I do a job I love and for me to be recognised for doing something I love is really cool. I am really humbled to be recognised.”

Emma will be presented the medal by the Queen’s Lieutenant in the coming weeks and the honor also comes with an invite to the Queen’s garden party this summer, an event she is hoping she can take her New Zealand based Mum and Dad to, depending on the border situation. 

Despite the difference she has made to her community and the long term effect she has had on so many people Emma says she doesn’t see her achievements as exceptional. 

“I don’t think I’m extraordinary, I think I am extremely passionate and driven. Sometimes when I look at all the work and all the hours I think I am a bit mad. But I think it’s my drive, my passion, my Kiwi upbringing, I am a big believer that you get back what you give. I take a lot of pleasure in making things better for people.”

1. Name it to tame it

Jacqui says first and foremost it’s important to acknowledge your feelings and accept that this is a difficult and challenging time. When we are separated from our loved ones and regular traditions emotions can heighten. Prioritising our wellbeing and self-care can help us not just ‘survive’’ the holiday season but rather to make the most of it.

“I always say you have to name it to tame it. Take time to acknowledge to yourself what is going on and how you feel about it. You may feel disappointed, angry, flat or upset at not being able to be where you want to be these holidays. Acknowledging that it’s okay for you or others around you to feel like this is important, as when we can label our emotions it helps regulate distress. Once we are calm, we are then in a position to proactively plan.  

2. Keep calm and get creative

Jacqui says people should ask themselves what would help make their holiday season meaningful.  “Focus on the things you can control rather than what you can’t. Too much time ruminating on things outside our control increases distress and overwhelm, making it very difficult to make good and clear decisions. 

Think about ways you can connect with family over this period. For some people it may be a big group zoom call on Christmas day, for others that will be too overwhelming and a series of one to one calls with family and friends might be better.” Having purpose, feeling connected and experiencing frequent positive emotion will be key. 

3. Surround yourself with familiar traditions…

While we may not be able to celebrate in person we can still connect thanks to the power of technology. Set up a time to open presents together over zoom or use a service like Teleparty which lets you watch Christmas movies together online. Jacqui says sticking to our favourite traditions can help people feel connected. 

“When I was growing up we always had a champagne breakfast on Christmas Day, we ate brioche and fruit salad and listened to this one Christmas album. When I lived away from home I would put on that album and always make sure to have brioche and fruit salad on hand, sticking to this tradition made me feel more connected to my family.”

4. …Or start new one

Just because celebrations this year will be different it doesn’t mean they can’t be just as enjoyable. Take this time to get out and explore somewhere you haven’t been before, or take the opportunity to do something completely different to mark the day. Helping out those in need can also be a powerful mood booster. 

“We know that altruism or giving back to other people is a powerful way for people to feel connected. If you think Christmas day will be especially hard, why not spend the day volunteering at a shelter or a soup kitchen. Who knows you might even decide to start a new tradition.”

5. Be mindful that we are all unique 

Psychologists have coined the term ‘collective loss’ to describe the feelings people all over the globe are experiencing due to the pandemic. Jacqui says it’s important to understand that this collective loss is grief. We are grieving for the things we can’t have under the current circumstances, and like the grief experienced when we lose a loved one, everyone will react differently. 

“When we are able to remember that everyone has individual ways of processing loss (both triggers and expressions of loss), it enables us to be more compassionate to those around us”. 

John Taite’s Brooklyn apartment is peaceful. Outside the sun is setting over the East River and inside his wife Pamela and their 18-month-old Oliver are getting ready for bedtime stories. But just a year and a half ago, things were very different. 

“When Oliver was born, New York was the global epicentre of the pandemic. The death toll was around 1000 people a day and all you could hear were the sounds of ambulance sirens screaming day and night. Going into the hospital to have a baby at that time was pretty terrifying, but we did it!”

More than 56,000 people have died in New York state alone, since the start of the pandemic. And while the city that never sleeps is back on its feet, John says Covid has left its mark.

“People are used to the new normal these days, but there is a heightened sense of caution. You’d never leave the house without a mask,  just like you wouldn’t leave without your keys, and we all carry hand sanitiser. Big events are slowly returning but you think twice about attending.”

Despite the heightened sense of caution John says the pandemic has created some positive changes, such as the hybrid working model, which he thinks is here to stay. 

“I don’t think we will ever go back to five days a week in an office. In the last 18 months our business has grown by 400%. A lot of our work used to be created in big recording studios, and during the lockdown I kept waiting for my creative team to call and say ‘we can’t do anymore without going to the studio.’ But that call never came. The benefit of working with creative people is that they come up with creative solutions. The pandemic has taught us that we can do what we do practically anywhere. An office is not the secret recipe for productivity and innovation.”

John is the Executive Vice President of Brand Partnerships and Development at Made Music Studio. Essentially, he works with big companies to craft the iconic sound of their brands.  

“Made Music is best known for its Sonic Branding and audio design, but we’re really an emotional connection company. We use sound and music to make consumers feel something about the brands they love.”

“Previously I worked for global media companies like MTV, AMC Networks and the BBC. As that industry was being disrupted, I noticed consumers were spending more time with audio-first content, using voice-assistants, and choosing sound-on experiences. This highlighted a big gap in the market. Brands spend millions on their visual identities, but they’re invisible in audio-first environments.”

John is no stranger to the importance of sound. His father was the late great music journalist and broadcaster Dylan Taite and John is still very involved with the New Zealand music scene through his work with the Taite Music Prize. 

“The Music Prize is something I’m very passionate about. It’s a wonderful testament to my father and all he did for the New Zealand music industry. All that love he put into his work continues to resonate, all these years after he’s gone.”

However, it was during a trip back to New Zealand pre-pandemic to celebrate the Taite Prize that John noticed something was missing from Aotearoa’s cultural landscape.

“I was at the awards and a young TV reporter was asking about my father and it dawned on me that she actually had no idea who he was. It wasn’t her fault, dad’s work isn’t easily accessible to the public. But it was a stark reminder that all of his stories, all that history and Kiwi culture is locked up gathering dust in the archives.”

John has started digitising some of his father’s stories to make them available. However, given the depth and breadth of Dylan’s 30 year career, and the fact they’re all on old beta tapes, it’s a mammoth task. 

“I’d love to just give my dad’s work back to the people that paid for it, the New Zealand public. Every full interview with Bob Marley, Lou Reed, Darcy Clay, the Sex Pistols and Split Enz. Every talented New Zealander, every slice of Kiwi life he captured. It belongs to the people. It’s part of our story.”

“The other day someone said to me ‘now that Peter Jackson is done with his Beatles doc, maybe he can work on the Dylan Taite story.’ I have a storage unit packed full of my dad’s original tapes and extended interviews. They’re all up for grabs if he’d like to get in touch!”

John usually travels back to New Zealand several times a year. Along with his work on the Taite Music Prize he also has a teenage daughter Amelia who lives in Auckland. The pandemic has meant father and daughter haven’t been able to see each other in person since 2019. It also means Amelia hasn’t met her little brother Oliver in real life yet, but thanks to technology they have been able to talk most days.

Right now New York is getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving and John and his family have plans to spend it with his brother who is also living in New York. As for the future he’s hoping next year will bring more opportunities to travel home to New Zealand and also the chance for another of his favourite sounds to make a comeback. 

“A big thing I’ve missed during the pandemic is the sound of live music. I can’t wait to experience big, loud, live gigs again!”