Camilla | Kaikohe, Northland

“Being open-hearted is being with my babies, and just telling everyone how much we adore them, love them. Yeah. We just sit down every day. We have a conversation.

I explain to them to love themselves more than they can, let them know that they are loved, and how much we love them. It’s the way we bond together. It’s our kind of bonding.

I have five children. Three girls, two boys, and they are eight, six, four, three and one. At the moment I don’t really know, but they all have different ways of learning. So, one likes to be active, one likes to be so mellow, loved. One likes to be exploring. 

I grew up in Ahipara, and I have learned te reo Māori, so I am pretty much well-known in te reo.

I value just being a mum, really. That’s what is valuable to me, is just being a mum for my children. 

Some days I have challenging moments but most of the time it’s when I’ve got a lot of support in my family, I know I have back-up and support with all my kids, sometimes I find it a bit challenging, and sometimes I don’t.”