Media Release
20 January 2011

Prime Minister happy to clown around with Camp Quality youngsters at Auckland/Northland Summer Camp

Prime Minister John Key put a smile on the faces of 85 children living with cancer at the Camp Quality Auckland/Northland Summer Camp at Wesley College, Paerata recently.

Camp Quality is a not-for-profit volunteer organisation dedicated to bringing fun, hope and happiness to children living with cancer. It provides week-long summer camps for youngsters aged 5-16, as well as year long support for the children and their families.

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The Prime Minister spent almost two hours at the Auckland/Northland Camp talking with the youngsters, posing for photographs and engaging with the campers. Nothing seemed off limits for the Prime Minister during his visit to the summer camp, even getting into a clown suit, he was happy to play the part.

Camp Quality NZ Chairman Ivan Lawson also at the camp on the day of the Prime Minister’s visit says he proved a “big hit with all the youngsters. His involvement with the campers bought endless smiles and laughter and the children were still buzzing long after he left. We were thrilled to have Mr Key join us at our Auckland/Northland Summer Camp and have the opportunity to learn more about Camp Quality.”

The first New Zealand camp was held in West Auckland in January 1985 and attracted 22 youngsters from throughout New Zealand. Now around 300 youngsters attend one of five regional summer camps nationwide with more than 750 volunteers, helping to make the camps a safe and fun environment.

According to Child Cancer Foundation statistics, about 150 young New Zealanders are diagnosed with cancer each year. Camp Quality passionately believes in the power of fun to help these children and their families overcome the challenges of living with cancer.

Caption: Prime Minister John Key clowning around with volunteers during his recent visit to Camp Quality Auckland/Northland Summer Camp.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

The ministry says the business has failed to recruit and retain quality staff – and says the kaimahi (caregivers) that have been employed are seriously unsuitable for the job, lacking basic knowledge. But Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau doesn’t get all the blame. The report says there’s a significant gap under disability laws to ensure there’s oversight by qualified clinical professionals. More>>