Remember that with the right information and support we can Face anything that comes our way.  Cleft NZ offers anyone born with cleft and their family support and information.  If you too would like to share your experiences to help make a difference, you may want to take part in our survey. Find the  link to the survey in the article below this one.  Or you may like to join in our Facebook community.  There is a facebook page for parents and one for young people born with cleft.

Please take 10 minutes to fill in this survey, your input is greatly appreciated and will help prioritise what Cleft NZ does next.

We would also like to encourage you to forward this link to others you may know that are either people born with a cleft, other professionals working in the community or extended family and friends who are interested in the outcomes for individuals born with cleft. We want to get as many diverse perspectives as we can to help us fine tune the services available.

Choose an appropriate survey link below and take 10 mins to make your experiences count.

• For people born with Cleft
• For professionals working in the field
• For family and support people
  Thank you we appreciate your time

http://www.cmdhb.org.nz/News_Publications/Newsletters/Connect/2010/connect-jun2010.pdf

Susan was overwhelmed to be amongst such amazing volunteers and manage to be one of the 7 recipients. Cleft New Zealand would like to thank Good Magazine, Intrepid Travel, Fujitsu and all the other sponsors of the event. We would also like to thank Honourable Tariana Turia and Te Radar for adding to the sense of occassion – it really made us feel special.

But an an especially big thanks to all of you who voted for Cleft NZ and Susan. It was the voters who made all the difference.

We would like to congratulate Darryl Pascoe from StarJam for winning the overall award. If you would like to subscribe to Good Magazine 20% will be donated to StarJam.  Everyone nominated does amazing work in their communities – a true inspiration.  For Susan the real motivation is the many amazing young people born with cleft that she has the privelge to meet.  How you face your adveristy and rise above the challenges is an inspiration and lesson to us all.

Learn about the recipients

• Incidence of cleft – with different variables like ethnicity
• Burden of care – which means the number of visits and surgeries required in the first 5 years
• Speech Language Assessment of all 5 year olds  (a modified GossPass assesment if you are interested)
• An orthodontic assessment of dental arch for 9 year olds (Goslon yardstick and Bauru Index)
• An assessment of the quality of the alveolar bone graft
• And an initial assessment from an oral health perspective on quality of life outcomes.

Cleft NZ would like to thank Peter Fowler and all the cleft units for taking the initiative to run this research. It will help to give a clear picture of what happens for our children and how this impacts upon our lives as families generally. It is a great way to assess how we are doing and the outcomes of the interventions we have.

If you have recently moved and would like to participate, please contact your closest Cleft Unit to update your details. It is a chance to use our experience to help our professionals do an even better job.

WHEN:   Tuesday 8th June, 10am-12 noon.  Ring 0800 425 338 for the address

Just bring a small plate to share and your children.  We hope to see you there.

Remember we have a great guest speaker in Sandy Cavell (Psychologist Intern – Cleft Team, Middlemore) who will be talking about her role on the team & how this can help to support & empower families.

If you want to come along and haven’t RSVP’d, please contact us on either info@cleft.org.nz or 0800 4 CLEFT (0800 425 338) – it helps for seating & catering.
There were no Notices of Motion or General Business items received. The following Nominations were received for positions as Officers and/or the Executive.
John Frear – Chairperson ; Stephen Selwood – Deputy Chairperson ; Ian Pallas – Treasurer/Secretary ; Susan Frear ; Elspeth Lamb
We look forward to seeing you next Wednesday 26th.

John Frear

Chairperson, Cleft New Zealand Inc

Cleft New Zealand on behalf of families throughout the country, would like to thank all the nurses who work with our children. Your empathy, understanding, nursing knowledge really makes a difference to our experiences in hospital. So to Ronel and her team at Middlemore, Jo and her team at Waikato, Hutt and Christchurch – thanks for your special care of our treasures.

A special thanks to the Cleft Nurse Co-ordinators, Megan Sanders, Jane Widdowson and Ruth Berry, Susan Reay and Harriette Van der Zee. Your role has made a huge difference to the experience families have, information and accessability, understanding and flexibility empower parents and grow trust and confidence within the system.

If you would like to add your messages of thanks, we will make sure the nurses see them.  You can add your comments here, or add to our facebook page.  (remember you have to be logged into your facebook account first)

Notices of Motion, including nominations for Officers and the Executive, and any items of General Business must be received in writing by Wednesday 12th May 2010.

Notices of Motion and General Business can be sent either by:

•  email to info@cleft.org.nz
• or by post to; Chairperson, Cleft New Zealand Inc., PO Box 13-385, Onehunga, Auckland.

Members putting forward Notices of Motion or General Business must be present at the AGM in order to have these tabled.

Details of motions, nominations & general business received will be sent out approximately 1 week prior to the AGM.

If you have any questions about the AGM please don’t hesitate to contact us on either info@cleft.org.nz or 0800 4 CLEFT (0800 425 338)

• Family & Baby
• Website launch  (look at the article below in What’s New)
• Kids

Aren’t we a handsome bunch!!

If you aren’t there and would like to be, just upload your images or contact susan@cleft.org.nz