Leading from the front issuu

DAUGHTER SORAYA
ON LIFE WITH MINNIE
Tell us a little about your life with Minnie?
For the past 12 years she was really full on with community
work. She loved helping people. She didn’t
want anything back for it, she just loved making people
happy. I think this came from seeing people in Maraenui
going downhill. We lived in Christchurch for a while
and Minnie had a job as a receptionist at Lincoln University
and when we came back to Maraenui there had
been big changes. And now you can barely walk the
street. There’s a lot of homelessness, a lot of poverty
and it’s getting worse. Around this time Minnie met
Maxine and Pat and got involved with Pilot City; she
used to say they prepped her to become the person
that she did. If she got an idea about something that
she could see needed doing, or if she felt she had a
solution, she was so determined she’d fight for it until it
was achieved and she achieved a lot in 10 years.
Did she get discouraged about the growing
needs in Maraenui?
Yes and especially because things had changed so
much. She didn’t want her mokos growing up around
all these issues and that drove her to do what she did.
If she was still here she would be doing the same mahi,
just more of it.
What was it like when Minnie met Pat?
I remember her starting to talk about “my Shipmate.”
It was funny listening to them organising things. It
sounded like a debate and you needed a sense of humour
to stay in the room! Minnie was organised and
had things set out. Pat would have his plan too but he’d
often change it and at times he and Minnie clashed.
Minnie would say, “We’re going to do it like this, and it
will work out better.” He would listen but the next day
he’d say, “I think we should do it like this.” Minnie would
say no, again, and whatever they were doing, it did
work out better.
Did Pat make a difference in Minnie’s life?
He had a huge impact, getting her out there on the
hikoi and just by supporting him. He supported her too.
Pat and others saw her potential and that helped her
grow. She always wanted to go into parliament. She
wanted to run this country and she would have been
good. A lot of people thought she could be the next
prime minister. We thought, give her a couple of years
and she could be in the Beehive.
What legacy has Minnie left behind?
Her determination to get things done is so inspiring. We
didn’t realise how much impact she had on people. We
Above: Minnie’s whānau gathered tight around her in the last months. She revelled in having her babies home. Aroha, support and
laughter helped get everyone through; Below, three Maraenui Wahine Toa — Gaylene Kiripatea, Maxine Boag and Minnie.
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Minnie Ratima - 1964 - 2020