'These women are not just statistics'
Rinabel Tiglao Blackmore was a mum to three boys.
Rinabel's eldest son Renzy, 23, says they were a very tight-knit family who cherished their mother dearly.
"Our family is a special family. Our names all start with R. We are a big family. Mum was one of four girls and one boy and we have lots of cousins," Renzy says.
"Nothing like this has ever happened to us and it has brought us all together. It's easier for [my brothers] to open up to me about their feelings now."
Renzy says even though they didn't always openly reveal their love for each other, his mum knew she was very loved.
"Growing up we all knew that underneath we loved each other. We'd say to mum, 'can you pick me up a pizza on the way home? I love you.' We would add 'I love you' just so she would get us the pizza," he says laughing.
"We were a cozy family, us three boys and mum. Even though mum isn't here any more and we are separated, our goal is to always check up on each other.
"Everything we do now, we want to make mum proud. We want to keep in mind what she would want. Physically she isn't here any more but she is still looking out for us - she has just changed form.
"As a personal trainer the way I try to promote reaching goals... it's all about the way people look at things, and we need to re-learn and look at this situation in a different way. That is what has helped me pull through when I've felt like I was drowning.
"You realize what strength of character you have when something like this happens and how you deal with things. I don't want to focus on how mum died, I want to focus on how I can look after my brothers. Mum was a very hard worker and I think that rubbed off on me too.
Everything she did, she did it for us. She was a cleaner because it was good money but it was tough work.
"I don't get to see [my brothers] all the time but I'm just doing the best I know how and want to make sure they're okay.
"Before she died mum was pretty much taking care of us all, including my stepdad... it's tough, but we're getting through it. Financially it's tough, because mum did support us a lot."
Despite the emotional and financial strain, Renzy says his philosophy is not to worry about money but to make sure he is enjoying his life and working in a job that he loves – just as his mother would have wanted.
"I quit my trade and my motivation now is to just build my own little personal training business and be happy.
"I want my brothers and I to all live together. I know that's what my mum would have wanted. I think that was her plan too - for all of us to live together. I want to be financially stable so that we can all be together and they have a place to stay that is home.
"I know mum's dream was always to own her own house, or even to own more than one house so that when we were old enough she could pass it on to us. She wanted to give us all a home.
"I remember even when I was little her talking about that."
Renzy says since her death even the smallest things remind him of his mother.
"There are so many things that bring her back to me, things mum would have said or done that remind me of her. But the more you talk about it the more it helps."
Nikita Chawla
1991 - 2015
A successful choreographer and dancer, Nikita Chawla planned to travel to the United States after graduating from her bachelor of performing arts at Monash University, but she never got the chance to fulfill her dream.
She choreographed, sang in and produced her debut music video for Michael Buble's support act, Naturally 7, in late 2014 and started her own dance school, BollyFunk Creations, when she was just 18 years old.
"I couldn't have wished for a better sister," Nikita's brother Tarang Chawla says.
"I remember Niki as a generous, compassionate and ambitious young woman, who smiled despite all that she went through. Niki looked at the world with love, optimism and opportunity. I admire her immensely and I miss her every day."
Nikita's mother Sunila Chawla says her daughter was "vivacious, strong, courageous, talented and an independent young woman".
"My Nikita was full of life, dreams and ambitions. She was kind, caring, generous and giving. She was very sincere to her friends and family.
"I will miss her presence, the way she would come up and hug me.
"I remember when she was born in good health despite me having gestational diabetes. It will always be one of the happiest moments of my life.
"Niki only lived for 23 years but she gave us all more love than people give in a much longer lifetime.
"She had a sense of adventure. She survived bungee-jumping and skydiving which was very brave."
When asked what their happiest memories are of Nikita, her family says there are too many to mention.
"I miss the little things. I miss the in-jokes, I miss poking fun at our parents together. To others she was a performer and a creative, and I saw those things but to me she was, and always will be, my baby sister," her brother says.
"The individual successes, the hard work and the contribution she made to the lives of others were all important and I proudly supported her, but foremost to me she's my baby sister."
Tarang says Nikita had big plans for her future after overcoming severe depression and was looking forward to graduating and pursuing career opportunities overseas.
"She was looking forward to a bright, creative future which was cut short."
"She wanted to be recognized at the highest level by her creative peers, to win an award and give a 'thank you' speech. She rehearsed it so often in front of the mirror," her mother recalls.
Leila Alavi
1990 - 2015
Leila Alavi was born in Iran on May 8, 1990, the fifth child of Rostam and Manhoor Alavi.
As a child she was very quiet but was always smiling and laughing. Her brothers and sisters used to joke with her, asking if she took "smiling pills".
Her sisters Jacklin and Mitra remember her fondly.
"She always made us laugh. Even when we were mad at her she made us laugh. If we fought, she always forgave us. It was her nature to be forgiving and compassionate to everyone," they said.
Leila always believed that someone who was born in May (Ordiebehesht, according to the Iranian calendar) belonged to paradise, as that is the translation of its name.
Leila left Iran and immigrated to Australia in 2011. That same year she married a man whom she had fallen in love with a few years earlier.
She dreamed about becoming a pharmacist one day and was working her way through college to fulfil her dream.
She had many friends in Sydney who enjoyed her fun-loving spirit and beautiful smile. It is probably true to say that everyone who came into contact with Leila loved her, her sisters say.
Her sister Jacklin says Leila was dedicated to her study and was working towards her future.
"She was a very good person. She was a positive person. Very, very kind person. She was hard working and a very good student. She was studying and working for her future day and night.
"My family lost their life [when Leila died] because she was our life, she was our heart. I cannot call my mum and dad because I cannot handle their sadness," she says.
"Leila did not belong to this Earth. She was an angel and now has returned to her home in the sky."
Leila Alavi was 24 and is survived by four sisters and two brothers as well as her parents.
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