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

Ruth Cosner and her children Jakki, Brandyn, Rebecca and Luke at Sydney Airport earlier this year. Photo / Supplied

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

Instead, the great-grandmother from Waipapakauri was stranded in Brazil by the coronavirus pandemic, which led to three months living in the slums and helping some of the poorest people in the world.

The 66-year-old used up all her money during her stay and on her efforts to return home, as flights became ridiculously expensive and were suddenly and repeatedly cancelled.

But Cosner isn't sorry her trip didn't turn out how she expected.

"If it had gone as planned, I would have been there two weeks, and we would have just done all the tourist things," she said.

"I didn't get to do those, but I spent three months actually living there, working and meeting the people and experiencing the highs and the lows. I would have sooner had that a thousand times over."

Cosner left New Zealand shores in February, after her four children got together a few years back and opened a secret bank account and added funds to it when they could afford to.

Ruth Cosner, left, with her sister Helen, a nun who helps people living in the slums of Brazil. Photo / Supplied

Her kids 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 journey.

Jakki, Brandyn, Rebecca and Luke also visited Sydney with her, then, after a stint back home in Aotearoa, she travelled 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 hit, stranding her.

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

"It was not what I expected," Cosner said.

"I have really horrible and really neat feelings about it. It was a horrible thing to happen but the other side was that I got to experience something other people don't, what it was like living in the slums.

Ruth Cosner, second from left, and her four generous kids who saved up and paid for her trip of a lifetime. Photo / Supplied

"It's like living in a ginormous commune, there's no space or privacy and everyone's jammed in, in these flimsy little shacks that are all joined together. There are really neat people and bad people, it's not unusual hearing gunshots during the night or day. But these people are amazing, they have nothing so life is very cheap but they'll also give you the shirt off their back if you need it."

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

Even though she took out "the most comprehensive cover I could get", she couldn't claim her money back through insurance.

Now Cosner's kids are at it again; raising funds via a Givealittle page to help replace the money she lost.

So far over $1000 has been raised.

Her son Luke Boyes, who lives in Christchurch, said the family were worried about their mother being stuck in Brazil during a global pandemic.

"We were concerned because the world was getting turned upside down, and Mum was on the other side of the world. And Brazil was one of the countries hit pretty hard."

Ruth stayed in the slums of Brazil where her sister has been working for 20 years. Photo / Supplied

He hopes his mum can use the funds raised to visit family who are located throughout New Zealand now that travelling abroad is out, he said.

Cosner, however, is unperturbed.

"They're [her kids] amazing, but they don't need to worry about getting the money back. I'm home, and I'm a great believer in the saying 'it is what it is'.

"If I never step out of New Zealand again, I wouldn't mind, there are lots of places I'd like to see. New Zealand is beautiful, at the end of the day we've got everything here."

But she admits she's still got itchy feet.

"If I could get on a plane and head back tomorrow I would definitely go back."