Stories JOIN THE CONVERSATION Be part of growing Auckland’s humanity Our Humanity Actions JANUARY When was the last time you felt thankful or grateful? Submit your story #aucklandhumanityproject Facebook Twitter Instagram Velouschka | Manurewa - "My kids. I’m a stay home mum, look after my kids. I’m only 21, I’ve got two kids, their fathers are not here to help me, so I’m doing it... Tali | Northcote - "The impact woke me up, and yeah that was pretty bad, and luckily the woman I hit, her kids weren’t in the back seat, because she had car seats and... Rob | Whenuapai - "I’m thankful that if I was ever going to be out of work, or anything like that, I’m glad to live in New Zealand. We get a lot of support... Renzo | Glen Eden - "I’m thankful for him, he saw something in me, to ask if I wanted to jump onboard. He’s helping me, just trying to push not only me, but everyone... Nichola | Glenfield - "I care about them because I know from my own personal history that sometimes life can be difficult, and I don’t want anyone to have to face that alone." Fernanda | Brazil - "I think it’s finding reasons to be thankful every day. It’s finding beauty in life from the simplest things, like I love going bush walking here, and just looking at... Douglas | Northcote - "There’s a few things important now I’ve retired. I’m looking at the company of other people my age where we can enjoy the community, as well as helping the community." Mark | Kawakawa Bay - "The majority of our community is good and out there doing the best for New Zealand. I’m thankful that there are people in the community that do that." DECEMBER What’s the one thing you need most right now? Sale | Panmure - "The one thing that anyone needs right now is probably some love, eh!" Scott | Newmarket - "To be happy. I think that’s the most important thing. For me happiness is about having a balance." April | Māngere - "I’m looking to rent a home, which is very hard to do in Auckland... A home is important for me and my children, because that’s our safety." Emily | Māngere East - "We all need a nice place to live, and somewhere warm and safe. I’m really lucky I’ve got that, but me and my friends, we’ve just been talking about... Hone | Māngere East - "Being a dad is life changing. It’s fantastic. It’s something that I’ve looked forward to personally my entire life, and something that I’ve been working towards in a personal... "One thing I need is good friends, from a personal perspective that’s what is most important to me... I think every human being has a desire to be understood by other people and to... Mahana | Ōtāhuhu - "Disappointment is probably the biggest struggle that I’ve had to go through. I don’t like disappointing people. I don’t like failing people" Gilbert | Massey - "It’s important to me that I could and should be able to look after my family. It’s pretty distressing that I can’t, but I’m hoping that it’ll change, always hopeful." NOVEMBER What’s a recent challenge you’ve faced? Jenni | Auckland Central - "The world’s a big place and overcoming my fear of it is knowing that at the end of it, however scared I was at the beginning, it’s not going... David | Otara - "I’m just single with children. Yeah, that’s the challenge. You bring them up the right way. Some of them are good, they listen. Some of them, no they don’t listen." Amy | Waiuku - "I’m normally a person who bottles it up a lot, but I have learned to try and talk about those kinds of things a lot more with people I’m really... Joe | Ōtara - "Now being an adult, I think some things in life have made me realise how people are, and how people connect culturally and spiritually, and the differences that people have... Sophie | Belmont - "There’s quite a lot of guilt involved in the decisions you make, whether you decide to stay or go. Because you leave the city and you’re not helping to rebuild... Kerry | Mount Eden - "About five years ago I was beaten up in town somewhere along Queen Street...I got four brain bleeds and I had suffered a stroke. The gym and allowed me... Ellie | Warkworth - "I had to find out new ways to keep myself going; keep myself positive so that I would heal quicker. I ended up getting in a car and just driving... Jason | Auckland Central - "When I came here, and I had just graduated from high school in my country, I was 18 years old. I didn’t know anything and I hadn’t really spoken... OCTOBER: WEEK EIGHT of ‘8 WEEKS OF HUMANITY’ Share a happy memory you’ve had together? Sharon | Warkworth - "Our next generation, and being being Māori myself, the way we were raised as children, we had it pretty rough. We don’t want our children to go through that" Jonathan and Hedy | Glenfield - "I love Jonny. He’s my best parent, ever." Piri and Loughlin | Hunua - "My happy memory for today was picking up Loughlin after him being away for a week with his mother. So I get the next week to spend with... Trixie | Bucklands Beach - "I would probably advise young parents like me, because these days it’s very busy working, to give some time to your kids and listen" OCTOBER: WEEK SEVEN of ‘8 WEEKS OF HUMANITY’ How have you resolved conflict in a positive way? Simon | Parnell - "I just want to see my mum, and maybe I never will. I understand why she did it. I’ve got a great mum. I’m so gifted to be adopted, but... Mayus | India - "I would always want to end my relationship with someone on a happy note. I would always go the extra mile and try to resolve issues, and I’ll always try... Alfred | Browns Bay - "Violence won’t solve the problem. Actually, it creates the problem. If you want to solve a problem, you have to first of all listen" OCTOBER: WEEK SIX of ‘8 WEEKS OF HUMANITY’ When was the last time you felt different? Zoe| Auckland Central - "I can’t really dye my hair blue in China, because people will say I’m not a good student. It’s quite free here, not only physically but mentally free." Sarrah | Mount Albert - "With my previous relationship, my child’s father, when he knew that I was pregnant he just got on the plane and headed somewhere else..." David | Takapuna - "To be a man is to be part of a community that includes men, women, people of different ethnicity, people of different religious backgrounds or non-religious backgrounds, people from all... Elaine | Waimauku - "I’m a Westie. You may not think I’m a Westie looking at me, but I grew up there... I call New Zealand home, although at times it’s challenging because I’ve... OCTOBER: WEEK FIVE of ‘8 WEEKS OF HUMANITY’ What does it mean to be your gender in 2017? Bridgit | Milford - "Today being a woman is a really busy job, because we are all juggling careers and doing our best to look after our children in a changing world." Dylan | Mount Eden - "Today being a man for me means being vulnerable and open to experiencing and sharing your emotions with your whānau and friends." Kusum | Hillsborough - "To be a woman in 2017 is a lot for me. I work. I have family. I overcome all the difficulties with the bringing up of children, but it is... Leo | Auckland - "I’ve experienced a bit of gender inequality around the film industry. A lot of opportunities go to men. So I think I’ve been quite lucky as a white male to... Ratema | Auckland - "I guess I’m a bit of a feminist so I don’t view men as having a lot of pressures. I mean, they have as much as anyone else, but generally... Sam | Northcote Point - "I don’t believe in gender assignment. I think that everybody should be allowed to be themselves, and you shouldn’t have to be labelled." Sheena | Mount Wellington - "I suppose what it means to be a woman in 2017 for me is just such an amazing array of choices that are available. You can sort of do... Tia | Milford - "That transition from having a career and becoming a fulltime mum; I’ve been going through it now for six years, and I still haven’t learned how to do it… is... SEPTEMBER: WEEK FOUR of ‘8 WEEKS OF HUMANITY’ When was the last time you connected with someone you didn’t know? Tau | Otara - "Too much hate, too much violence in the world today, people. You know? One love, one people, one world, and peace." Kah-Shar | Manurewa - "It would have been with my mother as I was living in Australia, and she was over here in New Zealand, and she just found out that she was ill." Gwen | Point Chevalier - "Connecting with people is very important. It happened three days ago that someone, a friend of ours was found dead. Her neighbours hadn’t seen her for three days, and... Rhi | Papatoetoe - "There was a girl that looked like she was my age. She was crying and everything, and I went up to her and asked if she was alright, and then... Tailua | Māngere - "A young girl asked for a cigarette and I sat down and I started talking with her and just getting to know how her background was. You could tell she... David | Māngere - "The last time I connected with a stranger was probably at my job. I had a mother with her baby who was just having a real difficult time. Imagine yourself... SEPTEMBER: WEEK THREE of ‘8 WEEKS OF HUMANITY’ How have you connected to your culture lately? Sarah | Manurewa - "We paid for one lady's groceries and she just broke down crying" Jeff | Papatoetoe - "We call it the cloak of love, the cloak of future, the spirit of our ancestors. Anything with culture is special to Māori - to Māoridom" Elvin | Manurewa - "It would be with my grandmother. She’s a very beautiful lady. She has very strong values, and she’s very strict. She’s always been there for me, from the time I... Kevin | Mairangi Bay - "I guess my last heart to heart would have been yesterday with my wife. I’d done something I shouldn’t have done, I lost my temper, and had to apologise.... Robin | Muriwai - "My culture I guess is, one of having been an adventurer most of my life, and I’m currently writing books about those times." Jitendra | Te Atatu Peninsula - "Hindu is all about decency, honesty and keeping happy. Your, what we call, inner-soul happiness. If you are happy inside within yourself, then I guess the rest of... Jenny | Takanini - "I am interpreter so I work with people who don’t speak English on a daily basis, and I interpret for them at hospitals for their appointments. So, this way I’ve... SEPTEMBER: WEEK TWO of ‘8 WEEKS OF HUMANITY’ When was your last heart to heart? Mike | Waterview - "My mother is an alcoholic, I have to do this most days to provide for me and my mum. If not, I stay by myself if I can’t go home... Tau | Otara - "Too much hate, too much violence in the world today, people. You know? One love, one people, one world, and peace." Nic | Hillcrest - "I have an 11 year old son and I’m a single mum, so I have lots and lots of heart to heart conversations with my son. I think it’s really... Elvin | Manurewa - "It would be with my grandmother. She’s a very beautiful lady. She has very strong values, and she’s very strict. She’s always been there for me, from the time I... Kevin | Mairangi Bay - "I guess my last heart to heart would have been yesterday with my wife. I’d done something I shouldn’t have done, I lost my temper, and had to apologise.... Kah-Shar | Manurewa - "It would have been with my mother as I was living in Australia, and she was over here in New Zealand, and she just found out that she was ill." Reuben | Grey Lynn - "It was one of those moments where we talked about everything, but nothing at the same time. So, yeah it was good." Sione | Manurewa - "I haven’t had a heart to heart with someone for a long time. I think the last one was in 2007, just before I lost my grandma..." SEPTEMBER: WEEK ONE of ‘8 WEEKS OF HUMANITY’ When was your last random act of kindness? Sarah | Manurewa - "We paid for one lady's groceries and she just broke down crying" Jeff | Papatoetoe - "We call it the cloak of love, the cloak of future, the spirit of our ancestors. Anything with culture is special to Māori - to Māoridom" Gary | Eden Terrace - "I really like to help people. I was brought up in a really poor family, and I know what it’s like to be in that position" Jamie | Avondale - "I was on Three News, the young homeless teenagers living in the bush. I’ve been on the streets for two and a half years now" SEE PREVIOUS MONTHS STORIES
Velouschka | Manurewa - "My kids. I’m a stay home mum, look after my kids. I’m only 21, I’ve got two kids, their fathers are not here to help me, so I’m doing it... Tali | Northcote - "The impact woke me up, and yeah that was pretty bad, and luckily the woman I hit, her kids weren’t in the back seat, because she had car seats and... Rob | Whenuapai - "I’m thankful that if I was ever going to be out of work, or anything like that, I’m glad to live in New Zealand. We get a lot of support... Renzo | Glen Eden - "I’m thankful for him, he saw something in me, to ask if I wanted to jump onboard. He’s helping me, just trying to push not only me, but everyone... Nichola | Glenfield - "I care about them because I know from my own personal history that sometimes life can be difficult, and I don’t want anyone to have to face that alone." Fernanda | Brazil - "I think it’s finding reasons to be thankful every day. It’s finding beauty in life from the simplest things, like I love going bush walking here, and just looking at... Douglas | Northcote - "There’s a few things important now I’ve retired. I’m looking at the company of other people my age where we can enjoy the community, as well as helping the community." Mark | Kawakawa Bay - "The majority of our community is good and out there doing the best for New Zealand. I’m thankful that there are people in the community that do that."
Sale | Panmure - "The one thing that anyone needs right now is probably some love, eh!" Scott | Newmarket - "To be happy. I think that’s the most important thing. For me happiness is about having a balance." April | Māngere - "I’m looking to rent a home, which is very hard to do in Auckland... A home is important for me and my children, because that’s our safety." Emily | Māngere East - "We all need a nice place to live, and somewhere warm and safe. I’m really lucky I’ve got that, but me and my friends, we’ve just been talking about... Hone | Māngere East - "Being a dad is life changing. It’s fantastic. It’s something that I’ve looked forward to personally my entire life, and something that I’ve been working towards in a personal... "One thing I need is good friends, from a personal perspective that’s what is most important to me... I think every human being has a desire to be understood by other people and to... Mahana | Ōtāhuhu - "Disappointment is probably the biggest struggle that I’ve had to go through. I don’t like disappointing people. I don’t like failing people" Gilbert | Massey - "It’s important to me that I could and should be able to look after my family. It’s pretty distressing that I can’t, but I’m hoping that it’ll change, always hopeful."
Jenni | Auckland Central - "The world’s a big place and overcoming my fear of it is knowing that at the end of it, however scared I was at the beginning, it’s not going... David | Otara - "I’m just single with children. Yeah, that’s the challenge. You bring them up the right way. Some of them are good, they listen. Some of them, no they don’t listen." Amy | Waiuku - "I’m normally a person who bottles it up a lot, but I have learned to try and talk about those kinds of things a lot more with people I’m really... Joe | Ōtara - "Now being an adult, I think some things in life have made me realise how people are, and how people connect culturally and spiritually, and the differences that people have... Sophie | Belmont - "There’s quite a lot of guilt involved in the decisions you make, whether you decide to stay or go. Because you leave the city and you’re not helping to rebuild... Kerry | Mount Eden - "About five years ago I was beaten up in town somewhere along Queen Street...I got four brain bleeds and I had suffered a stroke. The gym and allowed me... Ellie | Warkworth - "I had to find out new ways to keep myself going; keep myself positive so that I would heal quicker. I ended up getting in a car and just driving... Jason | Auckland Central - "When I came here, and I had just graduated from high school in my country, I was 18 years old. I didn’t know anything and I hadn’t really spoken...
Sharon | Warkworth - "Our next generation, and being being Māori myself, the way we were raised as children, we had it pretty rough. We don’t want our children to go through that" Jonathan and Hedy | Glenfield - "I love Jonny. He’s my best parent, ever." Piri and Loughlin | Hunua - "My happy memory for today was picking up Loughlin after him being away for a week with his mother. So I get the next week to spend with... Trixie | Bucklands Beach - "I would probably advise young parents like me, because these days it’s very busy working, to give some time to your kids and listen"
Simon | Parnell - "I just want to see my mum, and maybe I never will. I understand why she did it. I’ve got a great mum. I’m so gifted to be adopted, but... Mayus | India - "I would always want to end my relationship with someone on a happy note. I would always go the extra mile and try to resolve issues, and I’ll always try... Alfred | Browns Bay - "Violence won’t solve the problem. Actually, it creates the problem. If you want to solve a problem, you have to first of all listen"
Zoe| Auckland Central - "I can’t really dye my hair blue in China, because people will say I’m not a good student. It’s quite free here, not only physically but mentally free." Sarrah | Mount Albert - "With my previous relationship, my child’s father, when he knew that I was pregnant he just got on the plane and headed somewhere else..." David | Takapuna - "To be a man is to be part of a community that includes men, women, people of different ethnicity, people of different religious backgrounds or non-religious backgrounds, people from all... Elaine | Waimauku - "I’m a Westie. You may not think I’m a Westie looking at me, but I grew up there... I call New Zealand home, although at times it’s challenging because I’ve...
Bridgit | Milford - "Today being a woman is a really busy job, because we are all juggling careers and doing our best to look after our children in a changing world." Dylan | Mount Eden - "Today being a man for me means being vulnerable and open to experiencing and sharing your emotions with your whānau and friends." Kusum | Hillsborough - "To be a woman in 2017 is a lot for me. I work. I have family. I overcome all the difficulties with the bringing up of children, but it is... Leo | Auckland - "I’ve experienced a bit of gender inequality around the film industry. A lot of opportunities go to men. So I think I’ve been quite lucky as a white male to... Ratema | Auckland - "I guess I’m a bit of a feminist so I don’t view men as having a lot of pressures. I mean, they have as much as anyone else, but generally... Sam | Northcote Point - "I don’t believe in gender assignment. I think that everybody should be allowed to be themselves, and you shouldn’t have to be labelled." Sheena | Mount Wellington - "I suppose what it means to be a woman in 2017 for me is just such an amazing array of choices that are available. You can sort of do... Tia | Milford - "That transition from having a career and becoming a fulltime mum; I’ve been going through it now for six years, and I still haven’t learned how to do it… is...
Tau | Otara - "Too much hate, too much violence in the world today, people. You know? One love, one people, one world, and peace." Kah-Shar | Manurewa - "It would have been with my mother as I was living in Australia, and she was over here in New Zealand, and she just found out that she was ill." Gwen | Point Chevalier - "Connecting with people is very important. It happened three days ago that someone, a friend of ours was found dead. Her neighbours hadn’t seen her for three days, and... Rhi | Papatoetoe - "There was a girl that looked like she was my age. She was crying and everything, and I went up to her and asked if she was alright, and then... Tailua | Māngere - "A young girl asked for a cigarette and I sat down and I started talking with her and just getting to know how her background was. You could tell she... David | Māngere - "The last time I connected with a stranger was probably at my job. I had a mother with her baby who was just having a real difficult time. Imagine yourself...
Sarah | Manurewa - "We paid for one lady's groceries and she just broke down crying" Jeff | Papatoetoe - "We call it the cloak of love, the cloak of future, the spirit of our ancestors. Anything with culture is special to Māori - to Māoridom" Elvin | Manurewa - "It would be with my grandmother. She’s a very beautiful lady. She has very strong values, and she’s very strict. She’s always been there for me, from the time I... Kevin | Mairangi Bay - "I guess my last heart to heart would have been yesterday with my wife. I’d done something I shouldn’t have done, I lost my temper, and had to apologise.... Robin | Muriwai - "My culture I guess is, one of having been an adventurer most of my life, and I’m currently writing books about those times." Jitendra | Te Atatu Peninsula - "Hindu is all about decency, honesty and keeping happy. Your, what we call, inner-soul happiness. If you are happy inside within yourself, then I guess the rest of... Jenny | Takanini - "I am interpreter so I work with people who don’t speak English on a daily basis, and I interpret for them at hospitals for their appointments. So, this way I’ve...
Mike | Waterview - "My mother is an alcoholic, I have to do this most days to provide for me and my mum. If not, I stay by myself if I can’t go home... Tau | Otara - "Too much hate, too much violence in the world today, people. You know? One love, one people, one world, and peace." Nic | Hillcrest - "I have an 11 year old son and I’m a single mum, so I have lots and lots of heart to heart conversations with my son. I think it’s really... Elvin | Manurewa - "It would be with my grandmother. She’s a very beautiful lady. She has very strong values, and she’s very strict. She’s always been there for me, from the time I... Kevin | Mairangi Bay - "I guess my last heart to heart would have been yesterday with my wife. I’d done something I shouldn’t have done, I lost my temper, and had to apologise.... Kah-Shar | Manurewa - "It would have been with my mother as I was living in Australia, and she was over here in New Zealand, and she just found out that she was ill." Reuben | Grey Lynn - "It was one of those moments where we talked about everything, but nothing at the same time. So, yeah it was good." Sione | Manurewa - "I haven’t had a heart to heart with someone for a long time. I think the last one was in 2007, just before I lost my grandma..."
Sarah | Manurewa - "We paid for one lady's groceries and she just broke down crying" Jeff | Papatoetoe - "We call it the cloak of love, the cloak of future, the spirit of our ancestors. Anything with culture is special to Māori - to Māoridom" Gary | Eden Terrace - "I really like to help people. I was brought up in a really poor family, and I know what it’s like to be in that position" Jamie | Avondale - "I was on Three News, the young homeless teenagers living in the bush. I’ve been on the streets for two and a half years now"
