A young Indonesian woman who was born with a tumour on her face has a new lease on life thanks to Haruru Falls couple Peter and Stacee Honey.
They met 20-year-old Ani Budjen when they were setting up a non-profit project on the island of Komodo. It was only afleeting encounter at an airport gate, but the Honeys asked an Indonesian colleague to get a message to her and see if she wanted help.
The potentially cancerous tumour had been growing since Ani was born, but her family could not afford to have it removed. The operation would have cost more than $15,000 in Indonesia.
Peter Honey wrote hundreds of letters to charities, medical clinics and airlines asking for help in what he calls a "year of dejection". He eventually gave up on letters and switched to videos and social media, using Facebook to get in touch with Takapuna facial surgeon Mark Izzard. Six minutes later Dr Izzard agreed to remove the tumour free of charge.
Others, including Romac, a Rotary organisation that helps disfigured children, and a number of Northland Rotary clubs, got on board to help pay Ani's way to New Zealand. The Honeys then had the problem of tracking her down again, eventually finding her impoverished parents in another village on Komodo.
Ani arrived in Auckland late last month and has so far had two operations, with one more to go. Between operations the business student is staying in Northland, which to her looks like one giant movie set, Peter said.
The Honeys set up the The Rock Overnight Cruise in the Bay of Islands. When they sold the business they put their energies into development projects in Indonesia, including an Outward Bound-style outdoor education centre on Lombok and a research centre on Komodo.
Komodo has a population of just 2000. Its claim to fame is the Komodo dragon, the world's biggest lizard.
