Just earlier this month, Rina Tuigamala Sua in Glen Innes faced an intense challenge as her 75 YO mother facing dementia left home alone. Peta did not carry a phone, money or any means of communicating her location.
It has been reported that Peta, a Samoan, boarded a bus headed across the city, unable to remember her current address or the route to get back home. The experience is nothing less than frightening and disorienting for Sua.
Sua has noted that this case highlights the challenges Pacific families often face and hopes that authorities streamline the process for pensioners suffering from dementia. But things took a better turn later that day.
Difficulties Pacific families in Glen Innes are prone to
Later that day, an act of kindness from a stranger – the deputy chair of the Henderson-Massey Local Board – played a significant role in helping Peta get back to her family safely. He initially noticed Peta struggling to communicate at a cafe earlier that afternoon.
Recognising that something is amiss, he approached Peta and greeted her in Gagana Samoa. Some time later, Sua had also posted a plea on Facebook. The social media post quickly garnered a lot of local attention.
The man soon recognised Peta’s photo and contacted the family. Not long after, a taxi driver called to inform Sua that he had dropped Peta at a nearby hospital. The family soon found her sitting safely at the location. Community efforts need better recognition and appreciation.
