As a teenager, Sydney-anne Martin would have given anything to have her own camera and study photography.
But fostered by multiple families through a church, she didn’t feel there was anyone to buy the equipment she needed to take the class.
“You had to have your own camera. It didn’t enter my brain that someone would help me get one,” recalls Sydney-anne.
Now 31, she’s working in her dream job as the creative and communications content lead for VOYCE – Whakarongo Mai, an organisation working to advocate and improve outcomes for children and youth in care in New Zealand.
Sydney-anne goes out of her way to ensure other teens in similar situations to her don’t miss out on opportunities.
“Not a lot of people trust kids in care with a camera that’s worth thousands of dollars. I can teach them how to use it, though,” she says. “It’s been awesome to grow my own skills, become a better creative myself and bring along young people who are passionate but it’s not accessible to them in care.”
Sydney-anne is also the host of podcast Whakarongo, interviewing both care-experienced young people about their upbringing, as well as experts in the field. It follows up on the “Six Promises for 6000” campaign that VOYCE delivered to Parliament in 2020, calling on politicians to ensure six basic pledges – including access to healthcare, education, stability, safety, genealogy and a say in their lives – are available for the more than 6000 children and teens in state care.
“I had the privilege of already knowing the young people on the podcast, so I knew the wealth of knowledge and mana they hold,” tells Sydney-anne. “I’m always advocating that our young people should be the voices at the table, so to actually do that and facilitate them sharing their stories was a privilege.”
As the third generation in her family to spend time in care, the experiences are all too familiar to Sydney-anne.
“My grandad’s parents adopted him. He was born in a mother-and-baby home in Ireland and never knew his biological mother,” explains Sydney-anne. She moved to Aotearoa from England at age 11 with her mum, stepdad and siblings.
“My mum’s mother abandoned her in a police station at a few years old. From there, she was put in foster care.”
At just 15, Sydney-anne ran away from home, which resulted in the church helping her.
While she’s incredibly grateful to these families, looking back, it’s still hard to comprehend all she’s endured.
“Every time I moved foster families, I hoped, ‘If I’m good enough, well behaved and do enough jobs or homework, maybe someone will take me in forever and love me.’ And every time you move, it felt like, ‘I’m not good enough to be loved.’
“Sometimes I look back at my childhood and teen years, like, ‘What the hell did I live through?’ and wish I was making it up. And this is still happening for thousands of kids in care.”
Working for VOYCE – Whakarongo Mai, Sydney-anne has found her calling and finally a sense of home.
“I’m really happy. I tell my boss all the time, ‘I’m here forever,’” says Sydney-anne. She hopes VOYCE’s work and the Whakarongo podcast will help others see vulnerable kids in a new light.
“Kids in care are all around us and it’s not always the kids you might stereotype,” she explains. “Kids who have been in care are in Parliament, they’re your neighbours, they go to school with your children and serve you in the community.
“I’d love for the public to hear care-experienced stories and listen to what we’ve gone through. That way, they know what needs to change. We’re a minority community and we can’t do it by ourselves.”
Listen to the Whakarongo podcast on Apple. To find out more, support the work of VOYCE or access support while in state care, visit voyce.org.nz.
Help is here
If you’re worried about yourself or someone else experiencing abuse, visit Shine 2shine.org.nz/0508 744 633
Are You OK areyouok.org.nz/24/7 helpline with trained counsellors: 0508 456 450.
In an emergency, call the police on 111. If it is unsafe to talk, press 55.
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