Northland great-grandmother stranded in Brazil’s slums during the trip of a lifetime

Far North retiree Ruth Cosner was destined for the overseas trip of a lifetime funded by her four generous children, who raised nearly $ 17,000 over the course of three years.

Instead, Waipapakauri’s great-grandmother was stranded in Brazil by the coronavirus pandemic, which led her to live for three months in the slums and help some of the world’s poorest people.

The 66-year-old spent all of her money during her stay and in her efforts to return home, as flights became ridiculously expensive and were suddenly and repeatedly canceled.

But Cosner does not regret that his trip did not go as expected.

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“If it had gone as planned, I would have been there for two weeks and we would have done all the tourist stuff,” he said.

“I couldn’t do that, but I spent three months living there, working and meeting people and experiencing the ups and downs. I would rather have had it a thousand times.”

Cosner left the shores of New Zealand in February after his four children got together a few years ago and opened a secret bank account and added funds to it when they could.

Her children gave her the $ 16,500 at Auckland airport when they surprised her with tickets to Sydney, which was to be the first leg of the trip.

Jakki, Brandyn, Rebecca, and Luke also visited Sydney with her, then after a period back home in Aotearoa, she traveled alone to Cairns, then Ireland and England, before heading to Brazil.

She was staying with her sister Helen, a Catholic nun who lives on the outskirts of Salvador and works with the poor in the densely populated favelas, when the pandemic left her stranded.

During those three months, she helped her sister, who has lived there for 20 years as a missionary and social worker, teach the locals how to make propolis, soaps and honey from their hives.

“It was not what I expected,” Cosner said.

“I have really horrible and very good feelings about it. It was a horrible thing that happened, but the other side was that I had the opportunity to experience something that other people do not experience, what it was like to live in the slums.

“It’s like living in a huge commune, there is no space or privacy and everyone is crowded together, in these little flimsy huts that are all together. There are really orderly people and bad people, it is not uncommon to hear shots at night or during the day. But These people are amazing, they have nothing, so life is very cheap, but they will also give you the shirt from the back if you need it. “

Cosner, who has 18 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, returned home in mid-June after several canceled flights and with all his cash.

Even though he got “the most comprehensive coverage I could get,” he couldn’t claim his money through insurance.

Now the sons of Cosner have done it again; raise funds through a Givealittle page to help replace the money you lost.

So far over $ 1000 has been raised.

Their son Luke Boyes, who lives in Christchurch, said the family was concerned that his mother would be trapped in Brazil during a global pandemic.

“We were worried because the world was turning upside down, and Mom was on the other side of the world. And Brazil was one of the most affected countries.”

She hopes her mother will be able to use the funds raised to visit relatives throughout New Zealand now that she is unable to travel abroad, she said.

Cosner, however, is unfazed.

“They are [her kids] amazing, but they don’t need to worry about getting the money back. I’m at home and I’m a big believer in the saying “it is what it is”.

“If I never leave New Zealand again, I wouldn’t mind, there are many places I would like to see. New Zealand is beautiful, at the end of the day we have everything here.”

But he admits his feet still itch.

“If I could get on a plane and come back tomorrow, I would definitely come back.”