Ten heavy-duty air purifiers are being gifted to a Christchurch kura to help protect tamariki from worsening respiratory issues caused by cold, damp, and mouldy classrooms.

The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ, with support from Friends of the Foundation partner AHI Carrier Toshiba, is donating the air scrubbers to Te Pā o Rākaihautū, where staff and students are battling unsafe and unhealthy learning conditions.

A recent workplace health and safety report identified "critical issues" in the 70-year-old repurposed buildings, including rotting walls, mould growth, and ongoing leaks over areas where food is prepared. Staff and students have reported worsening asthma, respiratory illness, and breathing difficulties.

Foundation Chief Executive Ms Letitia Harding says the air scrubbers are an urgent measure to reduce harm, but fall far short of what the kura really needs.

"Every breath matters, especially for our tamariki.

"When we heard that these children were learning in freezing, damp classrooms where mould and illness are spreading, we knew we had to step in," she says.

"These scrubbers will help filter the air and provide some relief, but what this kura really needs are safe, healthy, permanent buildings - no child should have to learn in conditions that actively harm their health."

AHI Carrier Toshiba Marketing Manager Shirli Talbot says the company was keen to act quickly once it learned of the kura’s situation.

"Supplying air scrubbers is something practical we could do straight away to help improve the air they’re breathing every day, while longer-term solutions are still being worked through."

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