Strong Voices

Mary Bradfield’s career with IHC began on a long weekend – Auckland Anniversary Weekend in 1995.

“It was a beautiful day,” she smiles. “I met five really cool ladies and I had a great support worker orientating me. We went out to the beach for a BBQ.”

That beach day was to evolve into a long, vocational career dedicated to improving the lives of people with intellectual disability. But Mary insists her time with the organisation has vastly improved her life also.  

It was during time spent working in the Waikato that she began to understand what she calls ‘the deeper layers of my work’ and particularly the Māori aspects of care and connection.

There was a morning when she noticed one of the men who was always cheerful – always smiling from the back seat of the van – was quiet.

“His face held a heaviness I had never seen before,” says Mary.

When she asked if he was okay he whispered, “No. Been sad.” His grandmother had passed away, and he’d missed the funeral. No one had told him.

“I pulled over, stepped out, opened the door and sat with him. “My heart broke. Information – something so simple, so vital – had been lost.”

Mary learned of others whose birthdays, whakapapa and connections had slipped through the cracks during institutional transitions.

“These gaps weren’t just administrative oversights – they were blows to a person’s identity, their sense of belonging,” says Mary.

From that moment, she decided to make information preservation a personal mission.

As Mary moved into advisory roles, she found herself surrounded by others who felt the determination to honour cultural identity and strengthen connections as strongly as she did.

Their work grew from local to regional to national, and with it developed the wider understanding of how crucial the smallest details can be.

Mary has been a Northern Representative for Te Anga Pāua o Aotearoa, IDEA Services’ Māori advisory group, since the group’s inception in 2014. Te Anga Pāua o Aotearoa aims to improve cultural practice and promote ways for staff to build their confidence and understanding of te ao Māori, ultimately benefiting the people we support.

Further responsibilities for Mary came in the form of her supporting iwi registration in her area. “Not because others couldn’t,” she insists, “but because I wanted whānau to feel comfortable, understood and respected during deeply personal conversations.”

There have been challenges – times when she has witnessed injustice and felt compelled to fight for the people she supports. But according to Mary, “Those challenges only strengthened my resolve.”

Other challenges were of a more personal nature. When Mary stepped into kapa haka leadership, she wasn’t fluent in te reo Māori, so pushed herself to learn.

“I wanted to give back to the people who showed up with such pride and enthusiasm.”

Looking back on her long career, Mary’s greatest pride lies in watching the people she has supported stepping into leadership roles themselves. The Northern Region’s higher learners’ kapa haka group is one example. The higher learners are a group of people with intellectual disability who are able to articulate and pronounce te reo Māori. The group has been acting in an advisory capacity, going into local kapa haka groups in the Northern Region and supporting tutors to connect and nurture kiritaki (people we support).

“It’s a pathway to leadership for them and benefits community,” says Mary.  

As Mary looks toward the future, goals include continuing to strengthen her reo and helping her husband pursue the dream of building a marae. And despite stepping away from her day-to-day role at IDEA Services, she knows one thing for certain: connections endure. They always will.

Luckily for IHC, Mary will continue to share her dedication on IHC Media as a presenter on Tu meke reo time, Tuesdays at 11am. You can register at: www.ihcmedia.org.nz