Sachiko

“I come from a large family, I am the eldest of six and a mama to three beautiful tamariki. I am of Māori and Japanese descent with both sides of my culture strongly influencing who I am. I left school at a young age and became a mama to my eldest daughter when I was […]

Jordan

“I’m from Wellington but I’ve been living here since 2016. I met by boyfriend online, we chatted for about five months then starting seeing each other. I’d never been to the South Island in my life and I thought wow, this is amazing.  When I was in Wellington I was very different. My dad was […]

Stacey Young

I did a million other jobs and then I wanted to be a jumpmaster but studylink don’t fund you for that. And you don’t want to go cheap on skydiving equipment! Then I went oh my goodness I like children; and then it became a passion.

Jan

“As a girl who left school at sixteen, I never dreamed of university education or in adulthood gaining a Ph.D. in chemistry. I didn’t know about my Māori heritage until a few years ago. I had no idea. I was brought up entirely Pākehā, but the first time I stepped onto a Marae to go […]

Warren

 “I always had a love of the outdoors so right from school I started as an apprentice in the Botanic Gardens. I used to see the rangers going around and I thought; those guys had a great job. I joined the Police and I thought if I like it I’ll stay, and if I don’t, […]

Beth

“It sounds pretty cliche, but when people asked me what I wanted to do when I was older, I had no idea but I always knew I wanted to help people. I’ve been in hospitality for about 10 years and I’ve seen firsthand how much food wastage there is. When I heard about the free […]

Maire

My brother Aperahama and I are passionate about healing the land, to heal the waterways and people – it’s all connected. Regenerating ngahere is a legacy left to us by our tupuna (those who have passed). It’s a way to practice and pass on the values and teachings of Kaitiakitanga, Manaakitanga, Tohungatanga and Rangatiratanga.

Steve

“My father had prostate cancer, his brother had prostate cancer, his sister had breast cancer. They say men should get annual blood tests from age 50; or 40 if your father’s had it. Other than my blood test I had no symptoms whatsoever. My father – he suffered. That gave me a horrendous fear of […]

Jen

“I’ve spent the first 18 years of my life in Christchurch and it will always be where my heart feels calm. I was only 11 when the earthquakes hit, so I was quite little. Just trying to figure the world out, when during lunchtime at school, the door slammed and I got locked in a […]

Blair

“We moved out to New Brighton when I was about 3 years old. When I was young I had asthma, so my parents decided to move out here because there’s a lot less smog by the beach and it was better for my health. I used to bike to school and back, it was a […]