Ben Purua.
Photo: Supplied awards / New Zealand Kiwibank of the Year
After a childhood full of gang violence and facing arrest for manslaughter at age 16, a finalist for the young new zelander of the year farmers, family and forgiveness for allowing him to change his life.
When he was 15, Ben Purua knew little out of an education full of crime and violence.
“For me, as a child, I thought this was normal with gangs, drugs, the parts … This type of environment meant that eventually I felt that I would make myself a product of it.”
This path led Purua and two teenage friends to a deadly meeting with Donald Stewart in a public bathroom in Hamilton in 2010 after the trio demanded the 74 -year hand on the car keys.
When he refused, Stewart was dragged behind a alley and repeatedly punched and kicked before the teenagers took his car to a joy.
The retired body was discovered the next day.
Although the court has not claimed Purua joined the emergence that led to Stewart’s death for his part in the crime, he was sentenced to five years and six months in prison, with a minimum sentence of half of that time.
More than a decade later, he says Saturday morning Mihinganging Forbes was hard to imagine breaking this cycle of violence at that time.
“In these environments, you see a lot of trauma, I think, a lot of broken people.
“You seem to hide many of your feelings and pain behind this kind of facade …”
At the age of 16, he was sent to the arrest of Waikeria, where he joined other adult prisoners.
But it was there that he was introduced to agriculture through the prison agricultural program, and his mindset began to change.
“It was it alone, freedom on the farm … I fell in love with peace and the connection with when and the love of animals kind of grew up.”
Despite an early release for good behavior, Purua said he faced some setbacks and was remembered in prison on minor accusations.
It was around 2016, he said, that he was determined to leave his previous life behind.
He credits the change in the support of his partner and the forgiveness of the victim’s family.
“That was huge … that’s all, your word forgiveness alone is quite powerful.
“Until then, although I was released from prison … I was still stuck in my mind, still fulfilling my own sentence.”
Today Purua is the manager of a 540 pot farm near Tirau.
He is the winner of the central competition Plateau Dairy Dairy of the Year and the Young Maori Farmer of the year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87usvfjhimo
The father of three has a major social media following, directs a line of clothing Kāmu Tō pāmu and works as a speaker and mentor of the day of the farm in the prison of Waikeria.
He said he intends to inspire changes to others.
“Coming from a troubled background, coming from adversity … poverty, addictions and rejection. I think many people can relate to this journey.
“No matter where you are now, no matter where you came from, there is a way if you want.”
The Kiwibank Young -Zeng Award winner this year will be announced on March 20.
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