Walking alongside the next generation

In a teen parent unit in Upper Hutt, Wellington, cups clatter, little feet shuffle, and a baby laugh drifts across the room, welcoming you in.

Samara Francois smiles as she hears it, the sound carrying her back to a time when she sat in this very classroom with her own baby close by, balancing textbooks, NCEA credits, and feeding in between classes, learning what it meant to keep going when everything felt overwhelming.

Now, she moves through the same doors in a very different role, as a Barnardos Social Worker, guiding the next generation of young parents through challenges she knows intimately, bringing to them the same support and care that once carried her.

Born in the Wairarapa and raised in the Hutt, Samara became a parent at 17, and her experience as a young mum shaped the woman she would become.

“I went through this exact teen parent unit when I had my two older children. I wanted an education because I wanted to provide a better life for my children. I knew I couldn’t give them a good life with no skills, no job, and no money, so I took my responsibility seriously and went to school. I was driven,” says Samara.

Re-engaging with education was not easy, and she remembers the struggle to balance everything in her life.

“It was difficult to balance being a mum, a housekeeper, a partner, and also being in education. My education journey wasn’t always fun or successful. It took me a long time to learn to believe in myself.”

Yet the teen parent unit felt different. She felt supported to carry on with her education and with any obstacles coming her way.

“It always felt like the teachers cared for us as well as our education journey.” With small class sizes and one-on-one support, Samara slowly began to find her confidence, and with it, a sense that she could achieve more than she had imagined. “I got my NCEA Levels 1, 2, and 3, which was cool for me.”

After finishing school, Samara completed a diploma in health psychology before studying social work at Whitireia, driven by a goal she had held close since her own teenage years: to show that being a teen parent could be a journey full of hope.

Today, she is walking its classroom doors, supporting young mums to navigate the complexities of parenthood and education, offering guidance that comes from both professional training and lived experience.

“That’s quite a special space to be able to go back into for me, knowing the impact that had on my life and my journey going forward.”

Her work focuses on early intervention, on being present before a crisis emerges, and on supporting young parents to build skills and confidence from the start.

“I do not like the ambulance-at-the-bottom-of-the-hill approach. I like being there from the start. There's a lot of growth and a lot of change that the mums go through in this space. And, time and time again, when the supports are right and the needs are met, the journey looks very different for mum and bub and that is what keeps me in it,” says Samara.

Her days are varied. Some involve helping a young mum and baby find emergency accommodation. Others include grocery shopping together, showing someone how to use an EFTPOS card, or helping them fill in a WINZ form.

“Often our students don't have great family support networks. Sometimes they have no one. And so that looks like building a village to help them raise their baby and their village is professionals because their family don't show up.”

Samara sees both trauma and determination in the young parents she supports.

“It’s refreshing to see young mums who’ve been through significant trauma say, ‘This is how I was parented, and I want better for my child, but I don’t know how.’ It’s rewarding seeing them do well and recognise those challenges and wanting more for them and bub.”

Each year at prizegiving, Samara stands in the crowd, watching the young mums graduate, feeling proud of the wāhine and full of hope as she sees them move from uncertainty to confidence.

“I get goosebumps every year. I’ve worked with parents facing uplift at birth and see them thriving at the end of the year. It’s really special.”

Having lived it herself, Samara knows the late nights, the doubts, the victories, and the courage it takes to keep going. Now, she walks alongside the next generation of young mums, guiding them with warmth, humour, and hands-on support, helping them build a future for themselves and their tamariki.