Save the Children Fund

May I begin by greeting everyone in the languages of the realm of New Zealand, in English, Māori, Cook Island Māori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language.

Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and as it is evening (sign).

May I then specifically greet you: Martin Hawes, President of Save the Children New Zealand and your fellow board members, for example, Dorothy Gilson; our guest speaker, Professor Peter Gluckman from the University of Auckland’s Liggins Institute and the Prime Minister’s first Chief Science Adviser; Staff and supporters of Save the Children New Zealand; Distinguished Guests otherwise, notably June, Lady Hillary; Ladies and Gentlemen.

My wife Susan and I are delighted to welcome you to Government House in Auckland this evening for the Save the Children New Zealand cocktail party.

Save the Children New Zealand is one of a small number of organisations where Susan and I are joint patrons.
 
We chose to both become patrons of Save the Children New Zealand because of the organisation’s work in championing the rights of the world’s most vulnerable citizens—its children.

We have the view that giving children a good start in life is a vital role, not only for parents but for the whole community.

That has been heightened for us recently as we have become grandparents, twice this year, and we are getting a great deal of joy and satisfaction from the new additions to our family.

Sadly, we are also keenly aware that most of the children of the world do not get such a happy start in life.

It is two decades since the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, but there are now more children than ever before living in poverty.

I understand that Save the Children estimates that nearly 10 million children die every year under the age of five.  Their deaths are often caused by diseases that are easily preventable and treatable such as pneumonia, diarrhoea and newborn complications.

In its recent report, Last in Line, Last in School 2009, based on UN figures, Save the Children estimated that 75 million children worldwide are unable to go to school.  Of those, almost half live in countries scarred by current or recent conflict, with governments unwilling or unable to deliver basic services or which are struggling to cope in the aftermath of emergencies.

When one considers such large global figures, they often engender a feeling of helplessness as the scale of the problem seems so insurmountable.  But at times like this the words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa come to mind: “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

New Zealand recently, in fact last month, marked Volunteer Awareness Week, when we were reminded that those who give their time and energy to help others, for no pay, make a massive contribution to the well being of our nation.

The spirit of volunteerism is the glue that holds our society and economy together. I think it would be fair to say that our health, education and social service sectors would grind to a halt without the countless hours of voluntary work many people provide.

Many volunteers spoke in the media during that week of the sense of personal reward they got from helping others through their volunteering. Their comments remind us that voluntary work not only has its own intrinsic benefits—making friends and even offers of employment—but it also adds strength to our wider communities.

The late Sir Ed Hillary reflected this when he once said of his work in Nepal: “My most worthwhile things have been the building of schools and clinics. That has given me more satisfaction than a footprint on a mountain.”

As Joint Patrons of Save the Children New Zealand, Susan and I would like to take this opportunity to register our thanks for the good that those here tonight do as donors to the organisation, for those contributions provide the platform from which the work springs.  We would also like to pay tribute to the staff and volunteers of the organisation for all their good work.

We bear in mind that the challenge is to keep going in the face of the difficult times ahead.  Save the Children has a history of tackling the problems head on, but doing so in a multi-disciplinary way.

One example of this is its work in promoting the value of education—which is based on sound evidence that improving childhood literacy reduces levels of poverty. In particular, both as patrons and as grandparents, we would like to wish Save the Children New Zealand all the best for its role in the international Newborn and Child Survival Campaign.

On that note, I will close in New Zealand's first language, Māori, by offering everyone greetings and wishing you all good health and fortitude in your endeavours.

No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tēnā koutou katoa.