An Afternoon with Kathryn Wright: the life‑extending impact of friendships

Victoria Pemberton, ConnectHER for Southland, hosted an event for rural women at Davaar Station on Sunday, 1 February. Women from across Southland gathered together to be the first group to share connections and discuss rural health and wellbeing.  

Kathryn Wright, a registered counsellor (MNZAC), former RWNZ Business Award recipient, and PhD candidate at the University of Otago’s Centre for Sustainability, shared insights from her doctoral research on rural community connection and land‑use change.  

Kathryn highlighted emerging patterns of loneliness and isolation among rural women, particularly young parents, older women, and women without children.  

She also explored the challenges faced by rural mothers, including difficulties attending events without childcare, limited child‑friendly social options, and the emotional toll of spending long periods alone on farms. 

Kathryn spoke about connecting with support services, what was available, and the gaps of service provision in rural areas. Kathryn emphasised the protective and life‑extending impact of friendships, and encouraged the group to reflect on personal meaning and connection through two questions: 

What lights you up? 
What is there room for more of in your life? 

The ConnectHER service was introduced to assist women in rural areas to access support services.  ConnectHER is an initiative funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to help rural communities better connect with government and non-government services.  

Want to connect? Find out more here