Life has presented Miro with more than his share of challenges, but he remains positive because he knows, whatever he goes through, Visionwest will be there to walk beside him and support him in the tough times.
As Miro shares his story there are the expected times of family joy but there are also times of real tragedy. He has persevered through it all, however, and credits Visionwest with where he’s at today.
My wife and I moved to New Zealand from Poland 25 years ago, mostly for the future of our two boys. We chose this country after seeing a geographic programme on one of the local television channels and researching information on Google.
To us, New Zealand is a dream country. It’s beautiful and clean. Also, my father had taught me how to fish, something we did a lot in Poland. I loved to fish and so, when I saw that New Zealand was surrounded by water, I knew this was the place for my family. I even had a boat for a while. I did think a little about Australia but I hate snakes and spiders and things like that, so Australia was out of the question.
The earthquakes
When we arrived, we settled in Auckland before starting a tiling business and moving to Queenstown. After one of the early Christchurch earthquakes, I was asked to manage a job in the city, and we moved there.
In February 2011, the big Christchurch earthquakes struck. I was working close to the worst affected area, right next door to the CTV building. I was saved from death or bad injury only because I’d left the worksite for lunch. Our home was damaged beyond immediate repair and so, without a place to live, we were forced to move back to Queenstown.
Once the rebuild began, there was a lot of work for a tiler like me and so we returned to Christchurch. Then, over time, work dried up. Just before our money ran out completely, we made the decision to head back to Auckland. We stayed with an old friend while looking for a place to live.
Miro meets Visionwest
It wasn’t an easy time. With no money and no employment on the horizon, we found ourselves in dire straits, both mentally and financially. Looking back, I can see that the effect of the trauma caused by being in the earthquake was worse than we realised. We were in a fragile space mentally and financially; we were struggling to afford food. In the end, we went to WINZ. The person there recommended a visit to the Visionwest Pātaka Kai.
We jumped in the car and drove to Visionwest in Glen Eden, and we were shocked at how welcome we were made to feel. I thought we’d be treated like another number, another mouth to feed, and be placed at the end of another queue. But the people at Visionwest listened to what we needed and where we were at. And they supported us.
By this point, we had left my friend’s place because we didn’t want to be a burden to him. We were living in emergency accommodation. That meant having to relocate from one motel to another often because we were unable to stay longer than four or five days in any one place. Eventually we ended up at the Swanson Caravan Park. It was expensive and not terribly comfortable but better than living in the van which we’d had to do at times.
Throughout this time, Miro and his family kept in contact with Visionwest and had an interview with two staff members from Visionwest Community Housing. While not making any promises, they told Miro they would try to find his family a better living place.
They made it sound unlikely that they’d find a place for us. I guess they were being careful to not make promises they couldn’t keep but then, boom! About three weeks later we got a real surprise. They phoned me and said they wanted to meet us at an address in Swanson. We went over straightaway and met them there. Then they offered us the house to rent. We couldn’t believe it. We were totally shocked but so pleased.
Injury, redundancy, and loss
Finding a safe and comfortable home was a significant help to Miro’s mental health. It was from this place of stability that he was able to begin to think more clearly and started searching for a job. Within a short while he’d found one and began work as the project manager for an apartment development. Miro enjoyed this job but suffered an accident which damaged his spine and would later incapacitate him.
It was very shortly after this that Miro’s wife became ill, and, in just three short weeks, she had succumbed to cancer.
I was lost and unable to think clearly about anything. The ladies from Visionwest organised everything for me. That was so helpful. They arranged the funeral and the afternoon tea afterwards. I couldn’t have coped without them.
But then, soon after that, just about a month before Covid-19, the company owner decided to close the business and I was made redundant.
I would have been worried, and I’d have been out living on the street except that I was with Visionwest. I knew that, whatever happened, they were there to support me. That gave me hope. It was the only hope I had, but it kept me going.
Soon after, the owner of the property on Swanson Road decided to sell the property. Miro’s two boys had left home by this time. In Miro’s words, “Once again Visionwest came to my rescue. They helped me into a nice place in Henderson Valley. This was a great help to me because, after losing my job, my spine injury flared up and I was unable to work.”
Miro and the floods
It was a year or so after moving into his new Visionwest home, that the Auckland Anniversary floods hit. Miro’s home was one of the worst hit houses in one of the worst hit streets in Auckland.
Miro has survived earthquakes, flooding and worse – he credits Visionwest with giving him hope.
I was looking out at the river across the street and could see the water was almost over the banks. Within minutes the water was up to my windowsills. I had to just run for it as best as I could. It was very difficult with my back injury, and I couldn’t take anything with me. I lost everything, and I mean everything, clothes, furniture, all the photos of my wife and boys … everything.
But once again, I wasn’t alone because the people from Visionwest were there. They contacted me on the night of the floods and gave me a hand straightaway.
After a month or so back at his good friend’s place, Miro was placed in a house up the street (and on considerably higher land) from his flooded home.
It was great to be in the same neighbourhood and the new place is great. What I didn’t expect, a big surprise, is that Visionwest furnished this house with brand new whiteware, furniture, bed, sofa, fridge, everything. It’s amazing. You know, not many people can even dream about something like that happening to help them out but that’s what happened to me.
Miro has been through two of the country’s worst natural disasters. When he talks about these, he is quick to affirm which was worst.
The Christchurch earthquake was worse. That was big shock – a huge mental shock. After that I was nervous for many, many months, especially because I was exactly in the Centre. The building I was working in was the one that had the most damage apart from the CTV building where a lot of people died. Thankfully, I was on lunch break at home because we lived very close. So, in our house, everything was damaged. All the windows cracked, walls cracked, everything moved.
So, the floods were bad, but not as bad as the earthquakes, perhaps because, after the floods, I had Visionwest. I personally don’t know any organisation like Visionwest. I’ve never had any help in my life. Not like I get from Visionwest. They’ve done lots of for me and my family.
The thing that Miro says has amazed him the most is that he only ever wanted help with food but the staff and Visionwest listened not just to what he said he wanted, they listened to his story and responded to what he needed.
Thanks to Visionwest, my life is safer mentally because I know, for all I’ve been through, I’m not alone. I know, if I need food or some other practical thing, or if I need someone to talk to about how things are going, I can call anytime, and someone will make time for me.
Click here to read Tere’s inspirational story – Hope in the midst of flooding.
Miro’s latest challenge
Miro’s latest challenge is a cancer diagnosis of his own. It’s a dire diagnosis but, once again, he remains upbeat saying a positive outlook is possible because of his friends at Visionwest who are ready to help with transportation or whatever else he needs.
They never say no to me. It means, despite my illness and all that’s happened, I feel stable and safe so I can sleep well and not be thinking about, ‘Do I have bread tomorrow or can I get to my medical appointment.’ It’s a big comfort. I am very, very grateful.
I’m not sure where I’d be without Visionwest. So much has happened in my life. I admit, there was the time when I was suicidal. I couldn’t see any future, especially once I lost my wife. Without Visionwest, I don’t think I’d be here.
Visionwest to me is not a company, it’s a community of people. Like big cluster, which always says, ‘I can give you a hand if you need it.’ I’ve had help from the Visionwest budgeting people too. Whatever I need, they are there for me.
When asked about his hopes for the future, Miro is fatalistic. He recognises that there is no way he can go back to work because of his terminal sickness so his simple hope is that Visionwest will let him stay in his home and will continue to walk with him until his last days.
One thing I want to say is how great everyone at Visionwest have been. I would recommend Visionwest to anyone, whatever their need. The people at Visionwest listened to me and heard my real needs. There was no judgement or looking down at me. All they ever did was help me. They changed my life. They took it from a life I thought wasn’t worth living to a place where I’m comfortable and feel valued. It’s not easy to do that for a person, but that’s what Visionwest have done for me.
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By late-June 2023, Visionwest had been able to: support 3,152 households with food; open a pop-up pantry for whānau who had lost everything in the flooding; provide $219,766 worth of replacement household items to 84 households; provide 171 counselling sessions to whānau affected by flooding, along with seven community group sessions and visits to five schools to help pupils impacted by trauma associated with the flooding, personally visit 164 red or yellow-stickered homes to check on residents and ensure they had food and other necessities; support 296 households who had contacted us with accommodation needs.
Click here to read the Visionwest Flood and Cyclone Report.
For more inspirational stories of transformation and support, visit the Stories of Transformation section of our website.
** We understand that it is a great privilege when someone generously agrees to share their story. This blog and other material is shared with Miro’s permission and we thank him for his generosity.