One day in Christchurch, I just fell apart...

Help people in Canterbury like Michelle cope...every $1800 donated funds one 5-night

stay at The Monastery.
 

Michelle had been the strong one since the February earthquake in Christchurch.

She had been strong for her young twin girls; strong for her partner who lost his job and his house; and strong when her landlord wanted his house back, forcing her family to move.

Then one day, it all fell apart.

Michelle's story is not an isolated one. She is a competent, capable, 39-year-old woman. When the devastating 6.3 magnitude aftershock hit Canterbury in February, she did what so many others did; she just coped.

So much was dreadful, she said. "But in many ways my partner and I felt blessed because we were safe and our kids were safe, so we just kept on going."

At some point, Michelle realised she was just surviving, not actually coping at all.

"My mind was so clouded I couldn't make decisions properly," she said. "Then a woman was injured in an aftershock right in front of me. I was trying to help her and I just fell apart. I knew I needed a break, but I didn't know where or how."

Michelle heard about The Monastery, a wellness retreat in the Waikato which is offering free five-night retreats to people affected by the Canterbury earthquakes.

With free airfares from Air New Zealand, Michelle and her partner Tony flew up to Hamilton, leaving their children cared for in Canterbury. From the moment they arrived, Michelle said, "we felt we'd landed in heaven".

"The Monastery was just so beautiful and the staff were totally inspiring. They waited on us, giving us time and care. There was the most amazing food and massages, and yoga and talks and walks in the garden. Each night we went back to our beautiful rooms and just slept and slept. It was heaven."

At the end of her five-night stay at The Monastery, Michelle returned to Christchurch a different person, stronger and refreshed and better able to care for her family.

"My life has changed," she said. "I'm calmer, I can think clearly, I respond instead of react. My time at The Monastery has made me feel strong again."

As a Social Angel you can help Canterbury people like Michelle cope again through donations to The Monastery Opens its Heart to Canterbury project. Each five-night stay at The Monastery costs $1,800. Were aiming to raise $18,000 so we can help 10 Canterbury people stay at The Monastery for their own life-changing experience.

For more information about The Monastery, and its efforts to help the people of Christchurch, go to www.themonastery.co.nz.