Ray Avery: New Zealander of the Year

New Zealand is a country of geniuses, says the man declared New Zealander of the Year at a gala function tonight.

Aucklander Ray Avery, 62, a scientist, inventor and social entrepreneur was announced New Zealander of the Year at the awards ceremony attended by Prime Minister John Key.

The award recognises Kiwis who make a major contribution to the nation and inspire through their achievements.

An estimated 30 million  people by 2020 will benefit from Mr Avery's development of intraocular lenses implanted into the eyes of those suffering cataract blindness.

But Mr Avery is self-deprecating, saying:  “I am not particularly clever, I’m just a focusing mechanism for the endeavours of a lot of other clever people. What I do is come up with a basic idea in a very Burt Muro way.”
 
An Englishman by birth, he says he loves the number eight wire Kiwi ‘can do’ attitude. It is what made him decide to settle here.

He says New Zealanders do not understand how phenomenally clever they are.

“If Aussie is the lucky country, then New Zealand is the clever country,” he says.

In 2003 he established Medicine Mondiale, an independent development agency and charity. It creates low cost sustainable solutions that combat global poverty and health issues of the most vulnerable and neglected societies. He is a great believer in long term self sustainability in working with developing countries.

The Ray Avery designed laboratories in Eritrea and Nepal provide 13 percent of the world market for intraocular lenses.

These state-of-the-art factories were built by and use technology invented and gifted by Ray. Their combined output has collapsed the cost of the precious lenses forever, making them affordable to the poorest of the poor.

The Acuset IV Flow controller, invented by Ray, prevents the under and over administration of potent IV drugs in the developed and developing world.

Another invention Ray is developing is the high tech, low cost, sturdy Liferaft Incubator. The incubator uses innovative patentable technology to reduce mortality of premature babies associated with bacterial infections in the developing world.

Among other awards from the ceremony:

Senior New Zealander of the Year was won by Otago businessman Sir Eion Edgar, 65, chairman of sharebroking firm Forsyth Barr and a director of Martinborough Vineyard Estates and other companies.

He was also president of the New Zealand Olympic Committee and a supporter of sports and arts including backing last year’s 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games and funding a Dunedin sports centre and acting as a trustee with the national Arts Foundation.

He was the cornerstone funder of the University of Otago Edgar Centre for Diabetes Research. Judges said: “When he believes in a good cause, he leads by example.”

Young New Zealander of the Year category was won by Aucklander Divya Dhar, a 24 year old twin who has just qualified as a doctor and is a campaigner for policy change, committed to bringing attention to social injustices and climate change.

She waas the first United Nations Youth Association of NZ (UNYANZ) National Conference Director and Auckland Vice President. She currently serves as Vice President of the NZ Medical Students' Association (NZMSA).

A policy Divya wrote for NZMSA to combat the problem of doctor drain has been adopted by the government, enabling young doctors to be reimbursed up to $50,000 if they work in an area of need.

Divya founded HealtheX when she started medical school,  a research group and was instrumental in sending the first New Zealand delegation to the International Federation of Medical Students' Associatio. 

Divya has also worked with Rotary and Oxfam and raised over $20,000 for the Accor Cure Kids Charity race.

Winner of the Local Hero Award was Sam Chapman from Otara. The Local Heroes Award  rewards ordinary people doing extraordinary things in their local communities.

Judges said he had spent 40 years helping those who have lost hope and been rejected by mainstream society. The said he was described as being inspirational with “faith, grace, wisdom and commitment.”

He focuses on giving people the skills and motivation to turn their lives around. He has worked with the 30 strong Notorious Chapter of the Mongrel Mob and Mark Stephens, known as the ‘Parnell Panther’. He has taught in schools, prisons and churches and with  wife Thelma founded a variety of trusts, childhood centres and programes. He also works internationally on behalf of indigenous communities in the USA, Australia, Vanuatu and Israel.

A devoted Christian, Sam knows there are no short-term solutions to the majority of issues the people he works with face. However, his dedication to helping others has had a multiplier effect – those that he has, in his own words, ‘journeyed with’, are now out there in turn ‘journeying with others’.

Community of the Year winner was Nelson’s Victory Village

Victory Village, including Victory Community Health Centre and Victory Primary School, is a unique example of community-based support achieving positive health, social and educational outcomes, judges said.

After evolving from a number of health and social services operating randomly out of school meeting rooms, in a disadvantaged area of Nelson, Victory Village and the wider Victory community have gone on to attract national attention for the way in which they respond and relate to their community’s needs and aspirations.

This has resulted in a more sustainable community, with more effective service provision and families that are more stable and resilient.

The shortlist for the awards was selected from hundreds of nominated New Zealanders.

Judges included former prime minister Jim Bolger, Dame Malvina Major and former All Black Michael Jones.

Mr Bolger said he was "amazed by the overwhelming contribution" people had made to their communities, New Zealand and the world".

"Awards like these give us a chance to say thank you to extraordinary individuals, who inspire us as New Zealanders."

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3290820/Ray-Avery-New-Zealander-of-the-Year