November 22 2011

KidsCan Calls for Community to Address Child Poverty

A wakeup call for a community focus on combating the causes of hunger and disease afflicting our children has come from KidsCan Charitable Trust chief executive Julie Helson following broadcast of the “Inside Child Poverty” documentary on TV3.

“Some people may have been shocked at the extent of child poverty and preventable diseases in our communities revealed by Bryan Bruce in the documentary,” says Julie Helson. ”But the revelations were no surprise to us as these are the issues we have been helping schools address for the past six years.”

“We endorse the call for doctors and nurses to be available in schools providing free medical intervention to prevent diseases which were effectively eliminated decades ago in most European countries,” she says. “Prevention is by far the most cost effective alternative to expensive treatments and hospitalisation.”

“But whoever is elected on Saturday child poverty should not be just a political football, and everyone who can should be helping to overcome this serious problem.”

“New Zealanders contribute $100 Million every year to support children overseas while the documentary has shown there are similar needs in our own backyard,” she says. “Which is why KidsCan introduced a New Zealand child sponsorship programme so that caring kiwis can support the many other children just like those we saw in the documentary.”

Supported by various sponsors KidsCan provides food, shoes and raincoats for more than 40,000 disadvantaged children in 208 low decile schools across New Zealand with a further 100 schools waiting for similar support.

For more information: www.kidscan.org.nz.

ENDS

© Scoop Media