Over the last four weeks of the country lockdown under Covid-19 alert level 4, we saw examples of the best and the worst it can bring out in people. While self-isolation has been difficult for many for emotional and practical reasons, some continue to go out of their way to help others in whatever way they can.

Queenstown couple, John and Amanda Cushen came up with an idea to reward these unsung Otago and Southland heroes of the Covid-19 pandemic with a mini-holiday break. They set up a Facebook page calling for nominations for volunteers putting extraordinary effort into helping those in need during the country lockdown. Individuals, businesses or organisations that go over and above their call of duty can also be nominated. 

“We were inspired by the Dunedin rest home staff who decided to self-isolate at their workplace for the duration of the Covid-19 lockdown, to keep their 26 dementia residents free of the virus,” Mr Cushen, a former New Zealand cricketer, said.

“We were chatting over a glass of wine, asking ourselves what we could do for these wonderful people and thought we could offer our place on Stewart Island for a couple of nights.” 

Subsequently Real Journeys added a free boat trip to Stewart Island to the package, and Ulva Guided Walks offered a free guided walk on this predator-free bird sanctuary island. 

Since then three more amazing packages, including accommodation and local attractions, have been donated by various businesses in Mt Cook Village, Queenstown and Invercargill.

At the time of writing this story there were more than 20 nominations made, many of them from Southland.

Amongst the nominees are Sheena Taki, Unit Coordinator in an Invercargill rest home, who is working over and above her usual full time hours to ensure the smooth ongoing care of the rest home residents, Alana Humphrey in pharmacy at Southland Hospital, making sure the unwell have medicines, Janice Munro at Rowena Jackson Retirement Village, Invercargill for all her hard work that she puts into our residents staff and families, Michelle Scully, who works in ED at Southland Hospital, The staff of Gore New World, for being truly amazing through the lockdown, treating everyone with respect, even when some people have been rude and abusive, Laura Douglas at Real Country in Kingston who has been out volunteering delivering groceries to those in self-isolation, as well as working with the local farming community and the Salvation Army to assist those in need, and Casey Brown, a Te Anau personal trainer who’s put up on line training sessions to help her followers maintain their fitness through the lockdown.

The nominations for Southern Heroes end on Friday, 8 May 2020. A panel consisting of John Cushen, journalist Philip Chandler and Queenstown Harbourmaster Marty Black, will have a week to vet the entries to make sure that only genuine cases go into the draw on 14 May 2020 to win the prize packs.

To nominate someone from you own community, go to the Southern Heroes Facebook page, enter their name and explain why you think they deserve a break.