Stories | 5%

Elspeth is a 62-year-old New Zealand woman of Scottish heritage, who lives in a mid-sized rural town. Due to injuries from an accident, she now works part-time

Mana is a 29-year-old Māori man who lives in South Island. He has a partner and is currently working in a mine.

Mei is a 38-year-old Chinese woman who came to New Zealand at the age of 16. Mei lives in Auckland and works part time in the education sector. She is married with school-age children.

Rangi is 24-year-old Māori man living in Auckland with his mum. He has a 2-year-old son and is a solo dad. Rangi has whānau in both Northland and Auckland and often goes between both.

Maka is a 34-year-old Māori man who lives in Auckland. He has a partner and is a father. Maka has a fulltime job and works long hours.

Hana is a 36-year-old Māori woman who lives in Auckland. She has a 3-year-old son and lives in her whānau home. Hana is a team leader. Her work focuses on helping vulnerable families.

Wairere is a 34-year-old Māori woman living in the lower North Island. She lives with her partner and three school-age children.

Amber is a 29 year-old Pākehā woman who lives in the lower North Island. She is a full-time mother caring for 4 children – 2 of whom have autism.

Edward is an 81-year-old man who is from Canada. He is retired and lives in the South Island. Edward is married and has adult children and a lot of grandchildren.

Tayla is a 27-year-old Pākehā woman living in Auckland. She is a busy mother with 2 children. One child has a hereditary heart condition and the other has a rare kidney disease.

Talia is a 38-year-old Samoan woman who lives in Auckland. She is married and has 5 children. Talia is a stay-at-home mother. In her spare time, she makes candles.

Anaru is a 30-year-old Māori man living alone in a lower North Island town. He has a major spine injury made worse by his first doctor sitting on his results for over a year. Anaru is now on a benefit, still waiting for specialist care or surgery.

Teuila is a 68-year-old Samoan woman who came to New Zealand in 1970. She has 5 adult children, 13 grandchildren and 3 great- grandchildren. Teuila is a trained social worker but retired to look after her mother.

Hinemoa is a 39-year-old Māori woman who lives in the North Island on a farm. Her youngest daughter lives at home with her.

Roger is a 68-year-old Pākehā man who lives in the lower South Island. He is a published writer who has enjoyed some international acclaim for his work.

Meilani is a 25-year-old Māori Cook Island woman who lives in Auckland. She has a partner and is a stay-at-home mum looking after 2 children.

Tui is a 27-year-old woman who is both Māori and Pakehā. She lives in Auckland and has three children. Tui is a stay-at-home Mum.

Henry is a 72-year-old European man who lives in the South Island. He owns his own home and shares with a male flatmate, of the same age. He enjoys sharing the produce grown in his vegetable garden.

Chanel is a 20-year-old Pākehā woman who has grown up in South Auckland. She lives with her family and is studying to get into nurse training.

Anthony is a thirty-year-old European male who lives in the North Island. He is a husband, a father and, due to COVID lockdowns, he was made redundant.

Sheree is a 52-year-old Pākehā woman who lives in the South Island. She has a partner and they both have two adult children. Sheree grew up in Australia and has had a successful career as a chef.

Edna is an 82-year-old woman who lives within a North Island retirement village. In her younger days she travelled a lot including backpacking across Europe.

Leeanne is a 47-year-old Pākehā woman who lives in a major city. She has worked in the mental health and addictions sector, works closely with the Police and in the past, worked in prisons.

Nikora is a 20-year-old Māori man living in Auckland. His partner has a 2-year-old child. Nikora currently lives with his mother and has a fulltime job, often finishing late.

Brooke is a 30-year-old Pākehā woman who lives in a lower-North Island town surrounded by farmland. She is married and has 4 children.

Mahalia is a 30-year-old Māori/Tongan woman who lives in Auckland. She works in the retail industry and is a caregiver. Mahalia is married and has 4 children.

Kelvin is a thirty-eight-year-old Asian man who grew up in Auckland. He is married and the father of 5 young children. Kelvin owns a restaurant in Auckland.

Tiana is a 29-year-old Māori woman living in Auckland. Monday to Friday, she is a manager in the childcare sector and works with Youth in the weekends.

Margaret is a 73-year-old woman who came to New Zealand at 16-years-old. She worked as a nurse for 25 years before retiring at 65. She lives on her own, but her daughter and grandchildren live close by.

Eru is a 62-year-old Māori man living in the South Island. A head injury from a road accident 12 years ago ended his working life as a shearer. He is a father and grandfather.

Kiwa is a 26-year-old Māori woman who lives in a seaside surburb of Auckland. She is a stay- at-home mother with 2 children.

Alna is a 30-year-old South African woman who came to New Zealand in 2016. She lives in Auckland with her husband and 4 children, ranging from 22 months to almost 8 years old.

Hineawhi is a 47-year-old Māori woman. She lives in the lower North Island. Hineawhi is the mother of two teenagers.

Mihirangi is a 52-year-old Māori woman who lives in the North Island. She works for the police department and was an essential worker during the first Covid 19 lockdown

Frano is a 19-year-old man of Māori and Pākehā descent who lives in the South Island. Frano is studying conservation and looking for work.

Marion is a 40-year-old European Kiwi originally from Canada. She lives with her partner and 5-year-old daughter in the South Island and works from home for an insurance company.

Nigel is a 41-year-old Pākehā man living in Southland. He’s unemployed and lives with his parents while dealing with his mental health. During the week he helps on the farm.

Dawn is a 63-year-old Pākehā woman. She used to be a teacher, but is now retired and lives on her own quite a distance from her nearest town on the West Coast of the North Island.

Maia is a 23-year-old Māori woman doing conservation work in the South Island. Her job involves a lot of physical work outdoors. She’s also a musician and sings.

Bulma is a 30-year-old non-binary Pākeha musician who lives in a large city in the North Island. In addition to playing in several bands, they do paid and voluntary work.

Bled is an 80-year-old Pākehā man living in the far North with his partner. They met during the Covid 19 lockdown. He stays active with tennis, fishing and fruit-picking at a local orchard.

Tane is a 35-year-old Māori who lives rurally. He was seriously injured in an attack several years ago, but is finally able to work part time.

Bob is a 59-year-old Pākehā husband, and uncle, who lives with his wife in a mid-sized NZ city. He does voluntary work for a mental health service.

Keith is a 73-year-old Kiwi who came to New Zealand from England in 1976. He lives with his wife in a North Island city that is surrounded by farmland.

Ariana identifies as both Māori and Pākehā. She’s 26, lives in an outer suburb of Auckland and her partner who lives nearby. She works for a freight company.

Scott is a 34-year-old Pakeha Kiwi who lives in Auckland and works fulltime. He is a father of four, including a new baby with his current partner.

Rose is a retired nurse. She is 75, lives on her own but has a partner. They live in a central North Island town on the coast.

Peggy is a 69 year old Pākehā woman who lives by herself in a central North Island Town. She is a mother and is currently retired.

Andy is a 58-year-old New Zealand European man who lives with his adult son in a South Island town. He works fulltime and was an essential worker through the Covid19 Lockdown.

Moana is a 63-year-old Māori wife, mother and grandmother from Northland. She works fulltime in the education sector and is pursuing a higher degree.

Knife is a 26-year-old non-binary transgender Pākehā who is living and flatting in one of Aotearoa’s main cities.

Tamati is Māori, 35 and lives in a North Island city with his partner, teenage son, toddler and new baby. He was made redundant in lockdown, but is now working.

Arthur is a 74-year-old Pākehā man living by himself in an east coast town in the North Island. He has his own villa within a rest home complex.

Puawānanga is a 37-year-old Māori wife and mother of 3 children. She lives in a coastal suburb of a North Island city and works as an event organiser.

Julie lives and works with her husband north of Auckland in a semi-rural area. She is a Pākehā grandmother in her early 50s, with three grown sons.