Letitia's Message

Kia ora koutou and Meri Kirihimete!

Here we are already at the end of 2022! It’s been a busy, few months at the Foundation so I know the team and I are looking forward to enjoying a bit of down time over the festive season – as well as the celebrations!

With the easing of COVID restrictions, we were thrilled to get our live Sailor the Pufferfish asthma education shows back on the road recently. In September, Sailor travelled to Palmerston North, Whanganui and Tairāwhiti, to share important asthma information with students and teachers.

Our English language version of the show was performed at 12 schools and Early Childhood Centres in the ManawatuWhanganui region. This included a special show at Love & Learn Care and Education Centre in Whanganui with our Friends of the Foundation sponsor, eHaus. This was a fantastic opportunity for tamariki and our sponsors to learn more about asthma.

In Tairāwhiti our te reo show Heremana te Kōpūtōtara was performed to six enthusiastic groups at Te Kura Reo Rua o Waikirikiri in Gisborne. A big thank you to our wonderful performers Chris Lam Sam and Hinerongonui Kingi who bring our Sailor shows to life!

A huge thank you also to everyone who got behind our annual fundraising campaign Breathe Better September! We raised nearly $14,500 over the month, an incredible achievement. I want to give a special shout out to Comfortech, a silver sponsor in our Friends of the Foundation programme who raised $5000. A big thank you also to Pulse Energy, one of our gold sponsors, whose CEO Sharnie Warren walked 10,000 steps each day during the month, earning a total of $820. There were some outstanding efforts from other challengers. The Skelton-Morris whānau raised $1,390 through their daily Jump Jam fundraiser, and fellow ‘jammers’ at Twizel Area School raised an impressive $826. All money raised from Breathe Better September will go towards the Foundation’s education, research and advocacy work.

Advocacy work is often the ‘invisible’ work of charities. The Foundation works tirelessly behind the scenes with government agencies, partner organisations, and all with the voluntary support of our Scientific Advisory Board, and Vaping Educational Advisory Group. You might have seen me recently being interviewed on the topic of youth vaping. The Foundation is continuing to strongly push for tighter regulations and controls around vaping, and our efforts have made a difference. However there is still more mahi to do such as restricting the nicotine levels in vape products and capping the number of stores where vapes can be sold. The Government recently indicated it would look at reducing nicotine levels in vaping products, which are currently allowed at very high levels.

It always great to get out and about and see what is happening at the grassroots. In October, Joanna, the Foundation’s Research and Education Manager and I were invited to present to the Horowhenua Breathe Easy Support group based in Levin. It was wonderful to share the Foundation’s news with this group, hear their stories and learn about their work in the wider region. Community organisations like this one, provide such important practical support for people living with respiratory conditions. If you are ever keen for a visit to your community group or Society, please get in touch!

Finally, you’ll notice a few changes to this issue of Better Breathing. This is in response to our recent readers’ survey, which had some useful suggestions on how to make our magazine more informative and readable. We hope you like the updates.

Noho ora mai

Letitia Harding Chief Executive

Twizel Area School fundraises for Breathe Better September

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Letitia presents to the Horowhenua Breathe Easy Support Group.

Comfortech ready to celebrate Breathe Better September.