Kalla Byrne has spent the past year training to become an end-of-life doula to offer emotional and human support to those nearing death or who think they are about to die.
Ms Byrne said she had been fascinated by death since she was young.
"I’ve never really been scared of it. I’ve just been curious about it all.
"I remember as a kid sometimes just thinking to myself about one day I’ll be dead and one day all the people I know will be dead and that’s interesting and I wonder how that goes."
While she never wanted to be a doctor or any other medical professional, she wanted to work in palliative and hospice care in some way.
She worked in event management until last year when she stumbled upon an online course to become a doula.
For her, the work was focused on advocating for the dying person and helping them understand what to expect as they get closer to death.
It could include anything from getting photo albums together, helping write letters to family members and making funeral arrangements as well as being a bridge to medical professionals.
"There’s not really any limit to what we can do.
"It’s really about educating the dying person and their family about what to expect and how it’s going to happen.
It was about helping people find peace with their inevitable deaths.
"Death doesn’t have to be painful or scary."
"It can actually be really peaceful and nice."
Ms Byrne said there were 27 doulas in New Zealand and she was the only one in Dunedin.
She said she was part of the national End of Life Doula Alliance Aotearoa which had a registry that ensured anyone claiming to be a doula had received the right training.
