Agnes - This is Aotearoa

Agnes | Māngere

“My church family, so I go to church, and I think going to church helped me a lot with my confidence, and how I treat other people nicely, and just learning about who you are as a person, and believing that you can do anything through Christ.

I grew up all my life being a Christian, and I think being a Christian just helps you with daily life, and that’s my belief, that God is the centre of everything. So, if I put God first, then everything will come into place. If you just keep Christ in the centre, then everything will fall into place. Just believing that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. So, for me, I went through cancer, so I always knew that I wouldn’t be passed on, because there’s a lot of prophecies on my life that haven’t come to pass yet. So, I do believe that God can heal you. For me, as a believer, sorry I’m going to cry.

It happened 2017. So, I went through chemo and radiation, throughout the whole year, and it was a hard time for me. I always knew that I would be fine. I always knew that everything would go fine, but then going through the treatment it kind of made me want to give up, but then I knew that there was always going to be a better outcome when I finished the treatment. It was a hard year for my family, too because we got to move house through the year, and just thinking back to it, it was so hard for my family. It didn’t just affect me, but also my family, and so I thank the people around me. That’s why I’m doing this, it’s why I decided to come to uni, to study, because I want to be able to give back, and want to be able to give back to the community that was helping me throughout the journey, and also for the Cancer Society.

I’m studying teaching, primary school. So, I’m currently in my second year.So I hope to finish that and also get to visit other places and visit cancer kids. So, that’s my goal.

I was born and raised in Tonga, and then me and my family, we migrated here in 2008. So, I grew up most of my whole life in Tonga. Kind of half-half, Tonga and New Zealand. I value family a lot, and also myself. I’ve got to look after myself before others, and also I value other people too.”

What, if anything, have you done differently after visiting this site?

Agnes

Agnes

Agnes | Māngere - "Just believing that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. So, for me, I went through cancer and I do believe that God can heal you."
Lucas

Lucas

Lucas | Blockhouse Bay - "You wake up one day with your health, the next day you’ve got a disease or something serious going on. So just make the most of your days, of your moments, and enjoy time with your loved ones."
Alice

Alice

Alice | Birkenhead- "I went to Nepal to study yoga philosophy. During this process I really recognised what I can do. I can use what I have already learned to help people, to offer my knowledge to people. I think that is when I realised what I can do to help people."
Gemini

Gemini

Gemini | Takanini- "I grew up all around alcohol and drugs, and violence, and then I guess I grew into thinking it was okay, and then I let my son see that in his first years of his life, and it’s not okay. I don’t want them to grow up the way I did."
Simon

Simon

Simon | Christchurch- "We are a very tight unit, and if there’s any family problem let’s talk about it and not shy away from it, just find a way through it."
Hannah

Hannah

Hannah | North Shore- "When I was six, my mother passed away, and my grandparent took me in. Both going through that loss, we kind of just had each other, and she had also gone through the loss of her mum in the same year, so we were really close for a bit."
Ene

Ene

Ene | Manukau - "On her 21st, my speech was I gave her 12 months’ notice to leave the nest, because I couldn’t teach her any more, she needed to go out there and learn more. She’s out there, and she’s doing well. I’m really proud of her."
Sabila

Sabila

Sabila | Blockhouse Bay - "I learn from him, he’s always giving to the less fortunate, even though he doesn’t even have much. You don’t really lose if you give. You gain happiness by doing that."
Sue

Sue

Sue | Devonport - "I think it created a feeling of being able to stand up for your beliefs, and your feelings, what was important to you, and that was something that I felt quite strongly about. It was nice to have that affirmed from something that Dad had done, and maybe I’d subconsciously picked it up as a child."
Chelsea

Chelsea

Chelsea | Titirangi - "Don’t compare your family to other families, because it’s really easy to get in that track of like, especially on social media. They’re probably in the same rut as you, or just as stressed but I think having a good community around you is really important. People that you can call on to ask for help are super important."

Agnes | Māngere

“My church family, so I go to church, and I think going to church helped me a lot with my confidence, and how I treat other people nicely, and just learning about who you are as a person, and believing that you can do anything through Christ.

What, if anything, have you done differently after visiting this site?

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