Cheryl Barbara has lived in the Hurunui District most of her life, spending her childhood in Culverden and attending Amuri Area School. Her and husband Grant run a sheep and beef farm up Chaffeys Road near Waiau. She has two children, and teaches at Rotherham School. The farm incurred significant land damage from the quake including damage to a hill which threatened their home. In her interview Cheryl describes the quake, the damage to the property, living in a caravan, and the fight to get an insurance pay-out for their home.