29/05/2026
When Janice first told us she was thinking about standing as a Labour candidate here in Invercargill… we thought she was mad.
A bit of a lunatic, even. We questioned her sanity, and where on earth she’d find the time.
But here’s the thing about Janice.
To some she’s Nanny, to others Aunty, to her a lucky few, she is Mum.
To us, she’s Janice. Also the woman who founded Koha Kai.
The woman who believed fiercely that people with disabilities deserve more, more opportunity, more connection, more purpose.
Not just something to fill the day, but real employment, paid fairly. Real belonging. Real connection.
Not the “wave as you pass on the street” kind, but the kind where you sit down over coffee and talk about how to change the world.
The kind where you can turn up to your mate's, scroll TikTok for an hour together, and still feel completely connected.
Janice didn’t just talk about it... she built it.
We started as team leaders, supporting tamariki, teaching independence through feeding schools for a gold coin.
Then we grew, faster than we ever expected.
From learning the basics, cleaning, prep, cooking right through to full kitchen skills.
From gardens, growing fresh kai, to catering.
From opportunity… to real, paid employment.
And then the world shifted.
After COVID, as the cost of living rose and funding tightened, the reality we had worked so hard to build started slipping out from under us.
Janice held it together for as long as she could, but deep down, we all knew it couldn’t last forever.
Because how do you sustain a dream like that when the support to hold it up disappears?
Koha Kai was never meant to be the end point.
It was a stepping stone, a place for connection, for growth, for building skills, for being seen and valued exactly as you are.
And when Janice realized she couldn’t change the outcome from where she stood… she chose to stand somewhere else.
She chose to step up. To be louder.
To take not just her story, but the stories of so many , into spaces where change can actually happen.
That’s Janice. A carer, a nurturer and a believer, that no matter who you are, you always are deserving.
Whether you support National, ACT, Greens, or don’t care much for politics at all... that’s not really what this is about.
We’re not political people. We’re people.
And Janice? She’s always been about people.
And that’s why, when she shared her why, we stopped questioning, and started backing her.
Because we’ve seen who she is.
We’ve seen the change she’s already created.
And we know she’s not done yet.
We will hold the fort, she often takes over the page with her thought provoking posts.
But Janice...we have got this under control - somewhat 🤣 we believe in your why, and we believe in you.
