There are over 300 sick Kiwi kids waiting for their one true wish. These children are all over New Zealand.
Learn more about wishes in your area
There are over 300 sick Kiwi kids waiting for their one true wish. We receive applications each month for wishes. Monthly donations help us plan ahead for these children.
Make-A-Wish NZ relies on regular givers like you to help make Kiwi kids’ wishes come true.
Your regular monthly gift also reduces administration costs, meaning more money goes directly to creating these wishes.
“I wish to have a bedroom makeover – a sanctuary of my own”
10-year-old Ajah has a mutated gene, which means she’s more prone to cancer. When Ajah was only 7, she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. Sadly, Ajah’s leg had to be amputated below her knee.
Ajah’s mum Sharon says Ajah is extremely resilient. “Of course, there were moments where she would ask, ‘Why did it have to happen to me? Why did I have to lose my leg?’ But she would still carry on. Even the hospital staff during her chemo, they couldn’t get over how positive she was.”
Ajah’s wish is for a bedroom makeover. After so many months spent in hospital, Ajah dreams of a bedroom that is her very own perfect sanctuary. Sharon says this wish is important for Ajah because it’s something different for her to remember things by. “It’s something for her to look forward to, after everything she’s been through.”
Ajah’s wish will bring her a spark of magic while she navigates a long medical journey, but her wish can’t come true without the support of people like you. Become a Make-A-Wish NZ regular giver to make Ajah’s wish, and the wishes of other critically ill Kiwi kids just like her, come true.
- Join an exceptional group of Kiwis who help create powerful, life-changing wishes
- Know that even though we can’t change a critically ill child’s circumstances, you’re bringing them a spark of magic while they face some of their darkest times.
“I wish to go to Rainbow’s End in Auckland and go on rides for the first time”
16-year-old Riley is blind with developmental delays. Riley’s mum Heather explains that things haven’t been easy for Riley. “Riley didn’t walk until he was 10. He couldn’t just go for a play with his friends down the road. It had a huge impact. For the rest of his life it will.
Riley suffered severe scoliosis, which meant he was in a wheelchair. A lot changed after Riley underwent scoliosis surgery – he gained 15cm of height and didn’t need his wheelchair anymore.
Riley’s wish is to go to Auckland with his family and visit Rainbow’s End.
Heather says when their family visited theme parks in the past, Riley had to sit out of the rides because of his back, but his surgery means he’ll be able to participate now. “This wish is so important, because Riley just wants to have fun and go on the rides and be included in things that he had to sit out.”
Archer has always dreamed of having a sausage dog. His mum Brooke says Archer would often wish upon dandelions. “When I asked him what he wished for, he said a sausage dog.”
Archer’s wish came true in October this year, when he received his wonderful sausage dog – named Jeb. After enduring brutal chemotherapy treatments for leukaemia, Jeb brought a lot of joy to Archer and his family.
Brooke explains how meaningful Archer’s wish was:
“The whole experience has been so special and just a chance to really reflect on how far he has come. From 27 months on chemo and everything horrific that entailed, to running with his own puppy playing chase – it’s like night and day.
During his treatment there was a long period of time where he couldn’t walk at all and had nothing in him to be able to even try and force a smile… I used to imagine him running and laughing again and it felt almost unreachable at times. And now here he is doing those things, with his own special companion.”
