“Now that I’m retired, people call me Mama Rose,” Rosettastone tells me as we work on her laptop together at our recent Tea and Tech event in Tawa. “I always keep an eye on anything to do with Age Concern. And I saw this advertised and thought I must come!”
Mama Rose proudly explains that she was a minister’s wife for 39 years, with her husband leading St David’s PIC church in Petone, followed by the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa in Lower Hutt. She also worked in many Government agencies throughout her life, including Early Childhood Education and Development (ECD & MOE) and Parents As First Teachers (MSD). She travelled extensively throughout the country in her roles. Now retired she enjoys volunteering in the community and still supporting Māori and Pasifika families.
Sadly, Rosetta’s husband, Senetenari, passed away last year. She brought his laptop to Tea and Tech in Tawa to get some help with her Microsoft account which her daughter had set up, and also needed to free up space on the hard drive. She is computer savvy and definitely knows her way around a computer, but says “…it’s when I don’t know where to go that I get frustrated. I’ve learned so much today. Thank you so much!”
Meeting wonderful people like Mama Rose is the highlight of my job. I could have talked with her for hours, but we had important work to do. Rosettastone left happy and wants to come along to the next event to meet us again.