I was born in the Himalayas in India, and first came to New Zealand when I was 12 years old. My father migrated to New Zealand a few years before me and my mother with $250 in his pocket and a dream for a better life. It took him over six years to find a job in his field of work in engineering. But he did not give up. He slept at night on benches in Auckland Domain, eating meals at Hare Krishna and Auckland City Mission, working as a labourer putting tarmac on the road and packing food in cold storage units, selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door, and driving a taxi so that I could have access to the best education in the world. My mother worked as a caregiver in a retirement home. Both my parents have been heavily involved in volunteer work in local communities in New Zealand. My dad volunteered for the St John Ambulance in Kaikohe and my mother volunteered in an NGO for many years. 