Speech
Asthma Foundation 50th Anniversary and Achievers Awards Dinner
E kui mā, e koro mā, e huihui nei, tēnei aku mihi māhana ki a koutou. Kia ora tātou katoa. Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, warm greetings to you all. I specifically acknowledge: Asthma Foundation Chief Executive Angela Francis and Asthma Foundation Board President Professor Ian Town –tēnā korua
It is a great pleasure to welcome you all to Government House for this very special evening. This is the second time I have hosted the Asthma Foundation at Government House. Tonight is a time to remember, to acknowledge and to celebrate.
As well as honouring some extraordinary people with the presentation of Achievers Awards, we are celebrating the fifty years of advocacy, research, support and encouragement the Asthma Foundation has provided to the people of New Zealand.
A fiftieth anniversary is a notable milestone. It is an opportunity to look back to where we’ve come from and to consider where we are. What began quite humbly as the Hutt Valley Asthmatic Society has gradually evolved to become one of our most high–profile health organisations with a national office and 16 societies and trusts around the country. I’m sure the Life Members here tonight would agree that things have come a long way since that first meeting at the Taita Community Hall! What hasn’t changed though is the Asthma Foundation’s commitment to the health and well-being of New Zealanders, and its determination that people with asthma and respiratory diseases should not allow themselves to be limited by their illness.
Fifty years ago people with asthma and respiratory disease were forced to live life on the side lines. No sport, no physical activity in case you brought on an attack. Asthma was not just a challenge; it was, in many cases, an insurmountable barrier to participation and life.
Thankfully, this is no longer the case. Better medication and new forms of treatment have made a huge difference in how these conditions can be managed. The Asthma Foundation has been at the core of a dramatic shift in thinking, regarding what people with respiratory conditions can and can’t do.
Tonight we recognise that for the 800,000 New Zealanders who live with a respiratory condition, the Foundation works hard on their behalf, funding research and providing a voice for them.
Tonight we recognise that the Foundation’s goal of reducing hospital admissions caused by asthma and other respiratory conditions by 25% by 2025 is ambitious, but hugely beneficial to New Zealand in terms of a healthier population.
Equally though, tonight we celebrate the ongoing education and support work undertaken by the Foundation’s societies and trusts. The provision of adequate and easily accessible help at a community level is a boon for those who live with the reality of managing their respiratory condition every day.
It is the ‘can do’ we are celebrating tonight with the Asthma Achievers Awards. We have with us this evening a number of remarkable people who prove daily that the challenges of asthma are no impediment to living a successful, accomplished life.
This year’s Asthma Achievers have refused to let their condition limit them. Instead they have found ways of working with their condition so that they can follow their passions. They have been brave, resilient and diligent in terms of managing their condition while also achieving excellence. They are an inspiration to us all. For those people being recognised tonight, the fact they have been singled out for acknowledgement in the 50th anniversary year makes tonight even more special.
The American writer, Orison Swett Marden once said, “Success is not measured by what you accomplish, but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds”.
By any set of measurements you Achievers have been courageous, and successful and deserve the recognition you are receiving here tonight. Congratulations to you all for your endeavours and to the Asthma Foundation for 50 years of dedicated service to the people of New Zealand.
Kia ora huihui tātou katoa.