When I joined VOYCE in 2020, one of the first things care-experienced young people told me was, “VOYCE needs a podcast.” At first, I thought, “Doesn’t everyone have a podcast these days?” But the idea stayed with me.
Over the years, things got busy. Between creating comic books, magazines, reports, and election campaigns, there just wasn’t time to add a podcast to the mix. But by 2024, after presenting our 6 Promises Campaign to the government, I knew the time had come. With a care-experienced Minister for Children—someone who had previously supported VOYCE’s kaupapa—I felt hopeful that our young people’s voices could finally be heard by those making decisions for kids in care.
When brainstorming podcast themes, we explored some great ideas. Ultimately, we landed on the 6 Promises. These promises—basic rights like access to healthcare, education, safety, and cultural identity—reflect the commitments made to kids in care. Hearing our young people share their experiences of how these promises weren’t met backed up everything we’d taken to Parliament.
Here are the 6 Promises:
- You promised to take care of me and make sure I have the things I need.
- You promised to make sure I have safety and stability.
- You promised to help me with my education goals and dreams.
- You promised to support me with healthcare when I need it.
- You promised to listen and include me in decisions made about me.
- You promised to help me feel confident in who I am, learn about my whakapapa, culture, and language.
As someone who spent time in care as a teenager, I know firsthand that despite New Zealand signing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC), these rights often don’t translate into the day-to-day reality for kids in care.
With our theme in place, the next challenge was finding young people willing to share their stories. Many care-experienced rangatahi felt their voices weren’t important. I received messages like, “I’d love to do it, but are you sure I’d be good enough?” or “I like the idea, but I don’t think I’m the right person.” This self-doubt is common among care-experienced young people, and it’s something I’ve faced myself. I reminded them that they are the experts of their own stories and that no one else could tell their truths like they could.
Once we had our guests, the logistics began—booking flights, rearranging schedules, and ensuring every young person had the support they needed to feel safe and confident. On the first day of filming, I had a mini-panic. I’d spent so much time encouraging others that I forgot to encourage one last care-experienced (semi-young) person — me. Have you ever been so focused on lifting others up that you forgot to do the same for yourself? That was me. Thankfully, my incredibly supportive manager gave me the pep talk I needed to get my head in the game.
We filmed six episodes, each with two guests—12 incredible stories in total. Afterward, we headed into post-production with the team at Crescendo. Finn (our audio engineer) and Wils (our contractor/producer) joined me for the long process of editing hours of conversations into powerful, concise episodes. I learned a lot during this stage, including a key lesson for next season: I should talk less! But seeing the finished episodes come together was worth every moment.
Months later than I naively expected, we finally released the podcast. Being my first time leading such a project, things took longer than planned—but in the best way.
Since publishing the series, more young people have reached out, keen to share their stories in the next season. To me, that’s proof that our young people are beginning to believe their voices matter. I don’t know exactly who’s listening to the podcast, but I hope it’s helping the public understand the realities of life in care and inspiring decision-makers to work with the care community.
Separate from my mahi at VOYCE, I’m still just a care-experienced adult navigating life after a childhood that didn’t prepare me for the world. That’s why this podcast means so much to me. If it helps one child in care feel less alone or motivates one decision-maker to invite care-experienced young people to the decision-making table, then it will all have been worth it.
If you’d like to watch, or listen to Whakarongo, you can do so here:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@VOYCEWhakarongoMai/videos
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4JeDjyQHDzbNbZVOujpelS?si=0b25dd5a68504d24&nd=1&dlsi=809f3a33dc54485b
Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/whakarongo/id1779986673
