I Am... New Zealand

For 40 years, Jan Parker kept her child a secret. In August 1968, she gave birth in a Salvation Army home in Dunedin, New Zealand, to a girl she hoped would be named Brigitta. She was on her own at the time and happened to fall pregnant out of wedlock in a society that shunned young woman who found themselves in this predicament.

In 2016, Pete Blake had what he describes as his dream job. He was a successful, well-paid top-dressing pilot in Gisborne, New Zealand. He was happily married with 3-year-old twins and had just purchased his first home. At 31 years of age with over 10,000 flying hours in some of the most remote and hostile places on earth.

Farid Ahmed was inside the Al Noor Mosque on Deans Ave when a gunman opened fire during Friday prayers on the 15th March 2019. As he watched the carnage unfold, he connected with his faith and found the ability to push himself out of the mosque to seek refuge despite being in a wheelchair.

Turori Chapman was convinced she was cursed. At birth, her gender was 'indeterminate/ambiguous'. Today the condition is described as 'intersex', meaning that they identify as non-binary. Turori was the child no-one wanted. Growing up, she was passed around the extended whanau where she was abused.

Michael Hogan was born and raised on in Porirua, New Zealand. He is a loving father to six children, four biological children and two adopted. Michael was a Methamphetamine addict for ten years, who went to rehab to get better and is now a drug counsellor helping others.

Tui Taurua is a Ngāpuhi wahine with whakapapa to Waitangi. Her introduction to the mental health system started in 1977, following her hospitalisation after the birth of her first child. Tui spent more than two decades in and out of psychiatric hospitals and her time in those units can only be described as dark, lonely and terrifying.