Henna, now 42, was born in Hyvinkää in Finland, a town some 50 kilometres south of the nation’s capital, but hasn’t lived in Finland since she finished college. Henna was the younger child, with a brother five years her elder, in a small, close-knit family. Her father worked as an engineer for Finnish Railways, while her mother was employed as cook in an aged care facility. The extended family owned a summer house where Henna relished spending the few warmer months, involved in outdoor pursuits. She describes her young self as a tomboy who loved fishing with her maternal grandfather, not at all squeamish about humanely dispatching the awaited meal. To this day, seafood remains Henna’s favourite. Henna recalls being a shy child with just a single good friend. It wasn’t until her teen years that her friendship group grew as she became more daring. Henna still counts herself as an introvert who dons an outgoing persona as she leaves the refuge of her home to head to her demanding daily job.

Blessed with permissive, trusting parents, from her mid-teens, Henna spent summer holidays exploring Europe by train with girlfriends. Once bitten by the travel bug, Henna was smitten and she determined to escape Finland’s long icy winters as quickly as she could. At only 18, newly graduated from college, Henna headed to Cyprus where she worked for three years, waiting tables. While the job itself wasn’t well paid, the freedom was intoxicating and Henna was continually extending her intercultural understanding while beginning to appreciate the complexities of how differently people think and behave around the world. Next came a two-year-long stint in Leeds in the UK, where Henna worked in a Spanish delicatessen. When wanderlust struck again, Henna headed to Australia, a significant move because it was in Western Australia some 17 years ago that Henna met her boyfriend, partner and now fiancé, Lee. Lee is English, so of course, the pair moved on together, to New Zealand!

By this time, Henna was in her mid-20s, and had had enough of working dead-end jobs just to pay the bills. This was the impetus for her decision to turn her enjoyment of animals into a career path. Henna completed a Diploma in Veterinary Nursing at Unitech which, with financial assistance from her grandparents who had thoughtfully put money into an account for her from birth, Henna upgraded to a Bachelor of Vet Nursing. Henna herself showed foresight in volunteering at a nearby vet clinic, Auckland Pet Hospital, from before starting her diploma. In total, in both volunteer and paid capacity, Henna worked for 11 years at the Pet Hospital, rising to Practice Manager before a takeover and New Zealand’s cold winters had Henna ready again for a reset. She determined to give herself a three-month break volunteering in animal welfare in sunny Thailand before returning to New Zealand, where she has permanent resident status, to look for a new job.

Henna and Lee arrived in Thailand on 27th November 2019. Henna headed to her volunteering placement at Rescue Paws, and never returned to New Zealand. It took Henna quite a while to find her life-purpose, but no time at all to grab it with both hands, rising like cream to the very top of the organisation in the intervening years, her job description changing from Practice Manager to Managing Director as the team grew. Henna thoroughly enjoys living in Khao Tao, roughly half-way between Hua Hin centre and her workplace. Proximity to the beach and the carefree lifestyle it brings are big factors in Henna’s decision making, as is Thailand’s tropical climate. While acknowledging the area isn’t perfect and she can be particularly irked by careless drivers, Henna loves the area’s quirks and imperfections, which seem to make it an even more ideal and relaxed place for her to live, accompanied by her three rescue dogs, Jamook, Gretel and Sid, and Squeak, the three-legged, one-eyed cat.

One of Henna’s most significant career interests is in One Health, an approach to overall health for human beings and animals in recognising the entwined fate of the entire biosphere and thus taking a holistic, interdisciplinary approach. It is endorsed by the World Health Organisation. Her study and understanding of One Health are applied skills Henna brings to running Rescue Paws, along with a lengthy history in veterinary practice management.

While Henna tries hard not to over-work, making a point of enjoying the little things, she does not always succeed. She believes her greatest personal strengths are her resilience, her adaptability and her appreciation of a wide range of world views. Henna would like to remain positive and admits to avoiding the relentless onslaught of negative, right-wing media as much as possible, but still aware that living in a bubble is but an illusion. She can’t escape the conclusion that the world is indeed diabolically worse than it was when she was a child, with social media playing a distinct part in that. Nevertheless, Henna sees her greatest achievement in choosing to live on her own terms, risks taken and with no regrets, having established a solid relationship with her fiancé. Henna is a force of nature, her favourite saying, “I can go through a brick wall if I need to.”

Continued learning throughout her life is important to Henna, who knows she would benefit from speaking better Thai, aware that greater mastery of the language would only deepen her cultural awareness. And while she is too young to be thinking of a bucket-list, even more travel is on the agenda. Henna took the month of September to travel to Sri Lanka in an immersive fashion and is glad that she can again take the time to travel extensively like she did in her 20s. September was Henna’s first extended holiday in goodness only knows how long, and she had been in need of a completely relaxing time away. Henna’s favourite place in the world remains One Foot Island, locally known as Tapuaetai, a tiny, uninhabited islet on the southeastern edge of the Aitutaki Atoll in the Cook Islands, famed for its white sand and turquoise waters. Henna is grateful to have travelled to so many places on the other side of the world that her young self could never have even imagined. Travel has clearly broadened Henna’s mind, along with teaching her to trust her gut instinct.

Over the last few years Henna has been very busy overseeing the move of the home of Rescue Paws. The premises at Wat Khao Tao was cramped, old, bleak and outgrown, so when a Thai benefactor from Bangkok, who chooses to remain anonymous, offered to purchase land for a more modern and spacious headquarters, Henna jumped at the generous donation, despite the workload it entailed. There was the ideal site to find, the structures to design with the assistance of an architect, all the correct planning permissions to be obtained, all the funding to be raised, all this before the first sod was turned. Anyone who has ever built in Thailand knows it does not always proceed as planned, with vagaries of the weather likely to waylay even the best plans.

Henna is extremely thankful for her partner Lee who brings joy to her life, helps her to see herself positively, banishing any thoughts of Imposter Syndrome, while at the same time balancing and grounding her. Lee and the dogs encourage Henna to switch off and take time to read a book or smell the roses, as it were. Henna also holds great admiration for her father. She respects his calm, ethical acceptance of the world and his determination to prioritise nature while taking care of himself.

In her future, Henna sees more of the same. When the couple can find the time, they will have a private wedding then head to Europe to celebrate with both sides of their family before returning to continue the life they have built together. On a day off, you’ll find Henna on the beach, frolicking with the dogs, enjoying the sunshine. A leisurely seafood lunch and an afternoon nap will complete a perfect day.