Cook Island Maori Ngatamaine Tauranga does not let being born with cerebral palsy define her.
Her determination to live her life independently has seen her more than deserving of the month of January in the Flaxmere Heroes Calendar.
Ms Tauranga owns her own house, pays her bills and books all her own appointments.
"This doesn't mean I am brain injured. I'm not handicapped and I am not dumb. I am my own boss, I am a very independent woman."
Most importantly, she has achieved a qualification in social services to fulfil the need she saw to support not only people with a disability "but Pasifika people and our hard-to-reach youth".