We are sad to say that our lovely Midland Outreach Worker, Nicky Hollings, is stepping down from her role. Nicky has worked tirelessly to promote the needs of the members in her regions for more than four years. She has been an enthusiastic contributer to all aspects of the Outreach role, particularly health and safety, and dreaming up themes for events!

Nicky has worked hard for HFNZ members in Northern, and then in the Midland region. She has always had her care for HFNZ members at the core of her practice, and has always been prepared to go the extra mile. Recently Nicky has branched out to manage the planning and operation of national HFNZ events. She will be missed.

HFNZ CEO Sue says, "It is sad to farewell a hard working member of our team who brought such enthusiasm and passion to everything she did. Her experience gained from attendance at NACCHO helped make the National Family Camp the success it was. You will be missed by the Team Nicky and we wish you all the very best in your next endeavors”

Nicky says:

 

I have been delighted to have had the chance to work with HFNZ for the past 4 and a half years. I feel honoured to have had the opportunity to spend this time with members, through their good times and their bad, and privileged to have seen the changes in treatment and how they have changed peoples lives for the better. I was also proud to have attended WFH World Congress and NACCHO as an HFNZ representative, and appreciate how that has impacted my life personally and professionally.

Thank you Council and team for your support and care.

Nicky.

Kia Ora from beautiful Lake Taupo,

I have to say the past couple of months have been chaotic for me with taking my arm off my shoulder, but thanks to HFNZ, Phizer, and Sanofi I got the amazing opportunity of attending NACCHO. Phizer and Sanofi pay for international guests to attend who are willing to present and participate in the NACCHO conference.

NACCHO is the North American Camping Conference for Haemophilia Organisations, which occurs each year in Phoenix Arizona USA. It is the only camping conference dedicated to summer family camps that serve children of the bleeding disorders community that I know of in the world.

This year it was based around William Glasser's Choice Theory, which looks at our 5 basic needs: Love, Belonging, Freedom, Power and Fun. Specifically, it looks at how we make our choices based on these needs, or, if they’re not being met, what behaviour is seen or displayed.

There were great games and experiences on how we were able to connect into those needs, which will be integrated into HFNZ workshops and camps. Camps & workshops are about meeting the needs of our members by helping them find a sense of belonging, learn to advocate for themselves, and hopefully having fun and the freedom to choose what works best for them.

One fantastic idea that came from NACCHO is an adventure camp, where our young teenage boys learn to infuse in unfamiliar places, like in a tent or on a bus. What a great life-skill for our young men!

Bring on youth camp, how much fun to teach children that they have these needs and how they can learn to meet these in a healthy safe way.

It's nearly that time again, when we reach out to members to find out what your experiences of all things HFNZ have been like.

We haven't run an HFNZ survey since 2018, because there was such a lot of change in 2019. That means we're looking forward to your feedback and what you would like to see in the future.

As you can imagine, there's quite a lot of work to do to get a survey like this together. Right now we're in the design phase, deciding on what we want to know, and how we're going to ask it. We need to make sure we're asking the right things in the right way to get useful information that we can apply to improving our service for our members.

Our aim is to have the survey ready and out to members by the end of March, so keep your eyes peeled.

The Haemo walkers got out for the first walk of the year in the Port Hills on Sunday 23^rd of February and we enjoyed a stunning day, after the rain the previous day. Fourteen intrepid souls including Lee Townsend our physio were in the vanguard. We were again able to enjoy a cuppa at the top.  Photos taken by Izack and Kyle show us out there doing our thing.

For our next walk we are breaking with our last Sunday of the month tradition and so this one is set down for, Sunday 22^nd March

 

This starts from the Huntsbury Ave Carpark (207 – 211 Huntsbury Avenue) takes us along the edge of the Summit Road above Bowenvale Park, skirts around Sugarloaf and up to the Sign of the Kiwi and was enjoyed by a number of us last year. 1.5 to 2 hrs one way.

Keep your eye on your inbox for information about the next walk, or contact ross@haemophilia.org.nz.

A group of brave southerners took to the water in Moeraki last weekend in an attempt to find some fish. They were successful, as was the whole event. There's even photographic proof!

Here's what HFNZ have lined up for members in the coming months:

Inhibitors Weekend
March 13 - 15, 2020 in Auckland at the Quality Inn Parnell

Bombardier Blood Premiere
April 17, 2020. Christchurch in the TSB Space of Tūranga/Chch Public Library

Youth Camp
July 10 - 12, 2020. Auckland. Motu Moana Scout Camp.

Adult Weekened
November 6 - 8, 2020 in Christchurch. Venue to be advised

National Family Camp
April 29 - May 2, 2021 in Kaiapoi at Blue Skies

If you have any questions about any of these events, please don't hesitate to drop us a line at info@haemophilia.org.nz.