ORGANISING HEALTH CAMPS

Evening Post, Issue 11, 13 July 1936, Page 8

ORGANISING HEALTH CAMPS

The Health Camp movement, initialed rather more than a dozen years ago, has grown to the cxlcnt of becoming an institution in New Zealand, filling a well-defined role in the improvement of the health of the younger members of the community. The development so far has been along individual and local lines, but the time has now arrived when organisatiort on a wider scale would probably ,ensure greater benefits. The decision taken on Friday at a conference on health camp control and administration to establish a National Federation of Health Camps was therefore a wise one, provided" that the great virtue of voluntary action, which started the movement and kept it. going, is preserved. In elaborate organisation there is always a danger of individual effort suffering discouragement through the introduction of "red tape," and whatever, the new federation does it should seek to maintain, as far as possible, the voluntary character of the service of public-spirited individuals which has been 4so helpful in the past. ' This the Minister of Health (Mr. Fraser) emphasised when he reminded the delegates at the conference that the form of organisation which was likely to be successful was one which would retain the spirit of enthusiasm and co-operation. The provisional scheme adopted by the conference seems to meet the case, as the federation is to be organised on a voluntary bnsis and the contributions by the State are on the lines at present given, namely, "the assistance of experts where required by health camp executives in organisation, education, and medical supervision, the use of public reserves and buildings for camps, and financial assistance by way of subsidy for health stamp or other funds as might be necessary." The benefit of the federation will be mainly in the direction of providing health camps wherever desirable so that they will be available to children anywhere in the Dominion whose welfare demands •a period of residence. In ihis way the good work may be extended without any accompanying loss.