![From the ground up](https://cdn.magzter.com/1472106876/1701125643/articles/na2KFzd7E1701152593428/FROM-THE-GROUND-UP.jpg)
In Napier's industrial zone, a couple of young workers are paving a street corner on the banks of the Ahuriri Estuary. It's a small and unremarkable civil construction site. The workers are in high-vis gear, and there's a small digger bearing the name Topline Contracting. For the ordinary passer-by, there's nothing to see here. But this site is part of a much larger story of rehabilitation, healing and growth.
One of the crew in high-vis is Tumana Sullivan. He grew up in the impoverished suburb of Maraenui. When he was 13, his mother died suddenly of a heart attack, and he anaesthetised his pain with drugs and alcohol. He dropped out of school at 14, spent years drifting between the households of extended whānau, had time on the dole and bounced in and out of jobs. He had several brushes with the law, but managed to get himself clean of drugs a few years ago. He and his partner became parents when they were teenagers.
He wanted a better life for his children and partner. But that’s easier said than done: how to build a better future without access to the skills and jobs to earn a higher wage? The average employer can’t be bothered taking on guys like him, except perhaps when they need some low-paid casual muscle.
But Sullivan has found himself with a boss who is not average; a boss who understands what it’s like to struggle, because he has been there, too. Taurus Taurima is the employer who gave him a chance, hiring him three years ago to learn civil construction skills. For Sullivan and other workers, he’s the bro who defied the odds and showed them that a difficult past need not define the future.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 02-08, 2023-Ausgabe von New Zealand Listener.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 02-08, 2023-Ausgabe von New Zealand Listener.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
![Spilt milk](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13970/1714759/4ReU38zfL1716983056244/SPILT-MILK.jpg)
Spilt milk
Excess dietary calcium goes into toilets, not bones.
![To the Max](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13970/1714759/oQU8SsWue1716982833911/TO-THE-MAX.jpg)
To the Max
The testosterone and torments of late adolescence are centre stage in this novel about finding your place in life.
![A chemical killer](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13970/1714759/nJhLiCvOD1716981211626/A-CHEMICAL-KILLER.jpg)
A chemical killer
A new book outlines the life of a woman who may well have been New Zealand’s most prolific poisoner. What was it that led police to exhume the body of her husband from its watery grave?
![Creating the WOW factor](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13970/1714759/z5FsDfJ0z1716980507538/CREATING-THE-WOW-FACTOR.jpg)
Creating the WOW factor
Meg Williams, in charge of the biggest festival involving a bunch of people wearing wacky outfits, admits she's not very flamboyant in her own dressing.
![Leaving it all on the park](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13970/1714759/UHsg8L43N1716980165909/LEAVING-IT-ALL-ON-THE-PARK.jpg)
Leaving it all on the park
After cancer treatment, Graeme Downes takes stock of a musical life leading The Verlaines and lecturing future generations of songwriters.
![Wrong message](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13970/1714759/PslS63vR81716979828778/WRONG-MESSAGE.jpg)
Wrong message
A UK journalist who came here to talk about Rwanda’s authoritarian regime found herself the victim of a social media hate campaign.
![Busting a gut](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13970/1714759/0qmHxFduM1716979276816/BUSTING-A-GUT.jpg)
Busting a gut
IBD is escalating, seemingly thanks to the Western lifestyle, and New Zealand has one of the highest rates in the world.
![The point of Peters](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13970/1714759/E506lgYuP1716978771214/THE-POINT-OF-PETERS.jpg)
The point of Peters
There's been much to admire about the NZ First leader's politics over the years, but where has it got him?
![Don't call us ...](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13970/1714759/ZNvDlPvSS1716978651256/DONT-CALL-US-.jpg)
Don't call us ...
Finland's ingenuity galvanised the rapid global uptake of cellphones, so it's paradoxical the country's latest claim to fame should be the elevation of no-speakies to a new commercial opportunity.
![He is here](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13970/1714759/xbsl_P8KF1716978196509/HE-IS-HERE.jpg)
He is here
In the week my brother died, there was a storm in the universe.