Making Children’s Wishes Come True: Reflections by Dr Audrey Aumua

Ever wondered how you can bring happiness into a child’s life, especially a child who is critically ill?

Delivering happiness and hope to children and families who need it the most, is the aim of the initiatives organised by the Make-A-Wish foundation globally. The foundation has been granting wishes to children around the world for 35 years and has continued its efforts, even in the face of COVID-19.

Our region, faced with its unique set of challenges, struggles to access resources that can ease the burden of life-threatening conditions faced by children of the Pacific. According to a UN report released in 2017, the Pacific, excluding Australia and New Zealand, has the second largest probability in the world of children aged 5-14 dying from a critical illness.

Being the only wish-granting agency in the region, Make-A-Wish Pacific hopes to bring hope and joy to the lives of our children living with life-threatening conditions.

In Fiji, Ministry of Health identified 14 children as suffering from a critical illnesses. The foundation reached out to the families of these children to offer them a chance at a wish.

The wishes were as diverse as a child’s imagination. Some wished for rugby and sporting gear, others wished for a bicycle, sunglasses, stationery and iPads to watch their favourite cartoons and shows. Last week, all 14 of these wishes were granted to children at a fun day organised by the foundation.

The Make-A-Wish Pacific team was able to grant these wishes thanks to its supporting partners, the Pacific Community (SPC) and WOWs Kids Fiji, who were on the ground making sure all the participating children received their wishes.

The work of the foundation does not end here. We want to create wishes for every eligible child in the Pacific .

You can make a difference in a child’s life by making their wishes come true. Granting a wish is life-changing for these kids who are battling critical health conditions.

Get in touch with the Make-A-Wish Pacific team to sponsor a wish here.