Holiday camp for asthmatic children

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33728, 28 December 1974, Page 12

Holiday camp for asthmatic children

A holiday camp has been arranged at Glentui for asthmatic children.

About 25 children, aged between eight and 12 will attend the week-long camp at the Glentui Salvation Army Camp. This will be the first organised camp for asthmatic children by the Canterbury Asthmatic Society. Similar holidays have been ran regularly by the Auckland and Wellington branches of the society. The camp will be carefully supervised. Two trained nursing sisters from Calvary Hospital, a physiotherapist from The Princess Margaret Hospital, and a schoolteacher will form the nucleus of the “staff,” and other helpers and supervisors will travel to the camp daily.

Allowance will be made for regular medication for the children, and respiratory exercises in the morning will be supervised by the trained staff.

A member of the society, Mrs A. Horne, said that the camp was the first in the South Island, and the society was determined to make it a success.

Mrs Home said that many of the children had never been away from home for any length of time. “Particularly if the child is badly affected with asthma, the parents may feel that nobody else could cope. Many people think they would not be able to handle the situation if a child had an asthmatic attack,” said Mrs Horne.

“At a camp, the children will all be together, and will realise that they are not isolated cases.”

The camp programme will include a “Mini-Games”, at which medals will be given, and other events organised by the children. Parents will not attend the camp, and will be able to have a break over the holiday period. ' A special outing for the children will be provided by members of the Oxford and Districts Jaycee. The children will spend a day at a member’s farm. The society had hoped that more children would be registered for the camp, but Mrs Horne thought that it was an indication of the reluctance of parents to send their children to a “first” camp. “We feel this is why we must make the camp a sueC6 The Canterbury Asthmatic Society was formed two years ago, with an inaugural membership of 60. It now has about 200 members. It aims to bring the latest information to its members about research into treatment of asthma, to bring them together so that they realise they are not alone in their predicament, and to educate the public about asthma. There is a quarterly national magazine.