Tenby’s experience spans the private business sector, government entities, the military, and charitable/ not-for-profit organisations. He was educated at the University of Waikato, gaining a Master of Management Studies in international Business with First Class Honours, and was awarded Distinguished Alumnus in 2010. He also attended Harvard Business School and was educated in the New Zealand Defence Force where he holds the rank of Colonel in the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment.
Tenby has held senior management positions in leading New Zealand corporations, Fletcher Challenge and Skellerup Group, prior to forming a private investment company, Hunter Powell Investments in 1999.
His mix of commercial, military, government, and not-for-profit experience has created a rich and deep cross-sector knowledge base enabling an ability to work effectively with diverse cultural and socio-economic groups domestically and internationally.
In June 2022, Tenby formed Kiwi K.A.R.E (Kiwi Aid & Refugee Evacuation), a registered New Zealand Charitable Organisation which has been operating in Ukraine for over 20 months, delivering hundreds of tonnes of humanitarian and medical aid to Red Zone hospitals and front-line medical units, and conducting evacuations of civilians.
Presentation Title and Overview: Live from the Red Zone in Ukraine
Kiwi K.A.R.E, a registered New Zealand Charitable Organisation, was established in June 2022 after Tenby Powell deployed to Ukraine and saw an immediate need for a humanitarian and medical aid organisation who could operate in the Red Zones and close to the Zero (front) Line, with an additional capability of conducting long-haul evacuations.
Today – after delivering many hundreds of tonnes of humanitarian and medical aid forward, and conducting numerous evacuations, Kiwi K.A.R.E. is a highly respected ‘last mile‘ organisation in that we operate almost exclusively in the Red Zones (the newly liberated areas and those towns and villages behind the Zero Line), delivering humanitarian and medical aid directly to front line medical units and Red Zone hospitals, and directly to residents who have remained in situ.
As our name implies, we also provide an evacuation capability for people who need to escape dangerous areas, including that of the previously occupied south and east of the country. The distances are long, and many evacuees need medical and psychological support en route. This is particularly so if evacuees need transportation to other parts of Europe, which Kiwi K.A.R.E has facilitated and managed.
As part of our Outreach Programme, Kiwi K.A.R.E also conducts medical clinics in towns and villages that haven’t seen a doctor or nurse for some years. We often have qualified medical professionals travel with us on such operations.
In September 2023, a dedication / handover ceremony was held in Sophia Square, Kyiv, for seven St John (New Zealand) Ambulances Kiwi K.A.R.E imported into Ukraine. All have been named in Te Reo (the Māori language of New Zealand) which resonated exceptionally well with the Ukrainians. Six have are now working under the control of frontline medical units, with the remaining vehicle, Manaaki – which means Caring – having been retained for as our mobile health Outreach asset.
Kiwi K.A.R.E has secured additional ambulances which are in storage awaiting issues in the Red Sea to abate. We are also in discussion with Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) about securing fire trucks which are also in high demand in Ukraine.
In addition to sourcing and delivering medical and humanitarian aid, we are also funding and manufacturing wood burning stoves and water heaters, recycled from old electrical water boilers.
The old water boilers, which are donated from all over Ukraine, are dismantled and stripped down to access the internal tank and transformed into cheap and very effective burjuykas (wood burning stoves) and voda nahrivach (water boilers).
Throughout 2023 and 2024, we manufactured and distributed circa 2000 units. They are often described as lifesaving by those families who receive them. The geographic distribution focus throughout 2024 has been in and around Kramatorsk, Mykolaiv, and Kherson.
The stoves and water heaters are a cost effective and practical option given their utility, i.e. a source of heat, a source of hot water, and with the ability to use a hotplate to cook on the top. If power and water ceases completely due to infrastructure damage, these units will keep a family alive. Attached to each stove is a plaque that simply says, ‘With Love from New Zealand’. Our small country on the other side of the world is becoming well known and respected by many Ukrainians.
Kiwi K.A.R.E has developed a strong network of charities, together with professional and operational networks in Ukraine, Poland, Western Europe, the U.K and the U.S. Today, our small but highly effective New Zealand Charitable Organisation, has an enviable reputation of being able to deliver essential products directly into the hands of those who need them without getting caught up in mismanaged warehouses and large administration fees, as is often the case with the big aid agencies.
Kiwi K.A.R.E. operates entirely as a volunteer organisation and we do not pay ourselves any salary at all. While we do rely on donations for running operations, unlike the big aid organisations, we do not have large administration fees to manage large overheads.
We also rely on donations-in-kind, where organisations offer their goods, services and / or professional skills pro bono. Kiwi K.A.R.E has a partnership agreement with Ukrainian registered NGO, Day-by-Day Foundation and we essentially operate as one team on all humanitarian initiatives and missions.
This relationship has paved the way for relationship development and, consequently, mission-effect, in that are able to move at pace and provide exactly what is required in a specific geography to those people who need it most.
Here is a link to our webpage: kiwikareukraine.co.nz and our Give a Little page:
https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/kiwi-kare-ukraine-kiwi-aid-and-refugee-evacuation
And for up-to-date activity, here is a link to my FB Page: www.facebook.com/tenby.powell.5