Dr Alan and Hazel Kerr describe themselves as ‘just ordinary old Kiwis’, despite being named as the 2026 Ryman Healthcare Senior New Zealanders of the Year Te Mātāpuputu o te Tau.

The amazing couple prompted a standing ovation at a star-studded Auckland event which recognised their tireless efforts, with Alan travelling to and from Gaza and the West Bank 40 times to help children over 20 years, and Hazel travelling 20 times.

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Alan, a former head of cardiothoracic surgery at Green Lane Hospital, had played a leading role in the development of heart surgery in New Zealand, and was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 1997.

On retiring, he decided to spend his retirement sharing those skills in Palestine.

"Hazel and I had both been keen on doing humanitarian work even before we got married." he says.

Chief Operating Officer Marsha Cadman presents the 2026 award for Senior New Zealanders of the Year to Dr Alan and Hazel Kerr.

His interest in that area of the world was sparked after meeting a Jewish refugee from Czechoslovakia whilst at medical school, and later working with a Palestinian scrub nurse at Green Lane Hospital. The call for a surgeon in Gaza came via a British surgeon he knew, and the path was set.

When he first went to the occupied territories in 2001, there was no paediatric cardiac surgery being done at all. Officials from the Palestinian Health Ministry asked if he would consider setting up a service and it was too good a challenge to refuse, Alan says.

By 2019, he had not only operated on and saved the lives of almost 800 children, he had trained local surgeons and ancillary staff, leaving a legacy that now lives on indefinitely and earning him recognition as the father of paediatric cardiac surgery in Palestine.

“It’s a huge honour to receive this award, on behalf of all the people who have worked on our project in Palestine,” Alan told the awards audience, while paying special tribute to his ‘intrepid wife’.

“We hope we have been able to show the Palestinians that there are people in the west who do care for them.”

Alan said he and Hazel were both surprised to be announced as the winners on the night.

“I never expected this much applause, I have to say,” says Alan, now 90. “We’ve had quite a lot of recognition in Palestine actually, which has been lovely, and it’s very nice to have it here as well.”

Hazel, 86, a creative dance and drama teacher by background, brought healing of a different kind through education, care and human connection during her 20 visits to the area.

She volunteered at a school set up for the deaf in Gaza and in the refugee camp in the West Bank, describing the children as ‘just wonderful’ and ‘just like New Zealand kids’.

“In Palestine, I tried to give the children laughter, colour, beauty, to trigger their imaginations. Such simple things as bird song or the smell of apple blossom, just to make them see that there is a wider world than the alleyways that they’ve been forced into,” Hazel says.

“They were living under appalling circumstances, but with the littlest bit of warmth, they blossomed. And that’s just like children everywhere.

The couple says their family is immensely proud of them, but initially they were very sceptical about the idea, with the West Bank being in the top three most dangerous places to be in the world at that time, alongside Somalia and Colombia.

“They thought we were mad when we first went, because it was a war zone and bombs are going off and all that stuff. But we didn’t take any notice.

“I used to talk to the soldiers with their guns and I’d say, ‘Do you talk to your mother like that?’ And Alan would be cringing in the background!”

Flying back and forth to a war zone over two decades is not everyone’s ideal retirement, but Hazel, who admits to being ‘a bit stunned’ by the accolades, hopes to inspire many others to volunteer in some way.

“We’re just ordinary old Kiwis and when Alan retired, he still had all the skill and energy and our kids had grown up, and what was I going to do? So I came along and then you make a life. And I think New Zealanders can all do that,” she says.

Their story has now been told in a documentary film called The Doctor’s Wife, which has raised thousands of dollars towards supporting NZ medical missions to Palestine.

Dr Alan and Hazel Kerr, left, with semi-finalists Dame Claudia Orange and Stewart Bull.

Ryman Chief Operating Officer Marsha Cadman, who presented Alan and Hazel with their award, was also a member of the judging panel, a task she said was incredibly difficult.

“I’m incredibly proud to acknowledge the extraordinary contributions of Alan and Hazel Kerr and the legacy they have both created.

“They are an inspiration and well deserving recipients of an award that honours those who redefine what it means to grow older, and the incredible things that can be achieved in later life.”

She added: “The calibre of our nominations was exceptional, and I would also like to recognise the outstanding work of our semi-finalists, Dame Claudia Orange, for her work transforming New Zealanders’ understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and Stewart Bull, for his stewardship and championing of sustainable environmental practice across Fiordland and Rakiura.”