Orthopaedic surgeon Associate Professor Leo Donnan is one of a number of surgeons to donate his services pro-bono. He's pictured with Motaz, Isoa and Thiery who each had surgery at St Vincent's Private East Melbourne. Their care was provided at no cost, as part of the hospital's social responsibility mission.

Read their stories and those of the other children inside.

Winter 2014 Edition 20 Newsletter

Here at Children First Foundation, we are very familiar with the notion that 'you get back much more than you put in'. To us, the greatest reward is to see a child smile when their life is turned around through life-changing surgery. We are truly grateful to all our extraordinary surgeons, theatre and nursing staff, ancillary teams and of course our hospitals which donate beds. In particular, we acknowledge the rehabilitation program at our Farm, led by Farm Managers Pat and Michelle and their dedicated team of volunteers, which ensures children enjoy the best road to recovery possible. This year, through our Miracle sMiles Program we have had children in hospitals in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth so we are very much a national organisation.

As a supporter, you are part of making a profound difference to the lives of these children and on their behalf we say “thank you”!

With our Australian program 'Between the Gaps' now past 100 children assisted, we know we are certainly filling a 'gap' not provided by other organisations. We aim to extend this program further this year and consult with interstate counterparts to expand the program in 2015/16. During the year we were delighted to receive support from the Inge Foundation to fund many of our ancillary medical cases.

We have a large number of children on our files hoping to receive life-changing surgery and ask that, as the financial year closes, you consider a tax-deductable donation to Children First.

Margaret Smith, OAMChief Executive Officer

WELCOME to our Winter 2014 newsletter.

Diary Dates:

Farm Open Day:

Gala Ball:

Carols at the Farm:

Sunday 5 October

Saturday 22 November at the Park Hyatt

Saturday 6 December

If you're in and around the city of Melbourne between now and 13 July, keep an eye out for the hot pink Sisterhood tram complete with Children First logo on the side. Be sure to snap a photo when you see it and post it to social media – Priceline will donate $1 for every photo to the Sisterhood charities.

Priceline CEO Stephen Roche showed the children the tram before it hit the tracks.

S uper-Volunteers

In March this year we celebrated the incredible contribution of our volunteers at our annual recognition function.

We were pleased that so many volunteers were able to attend and give us the opportunity to thank them for all they do. The children had a great time and enjoyed seeing the Farm volunteers in a different setting.

All aboard the Priceline tram

Farm Manager Pat Weldon presented some interesting statistics from the past year. Here are a few of them:?19 children have been through the Farm?33 trips to the airport to meet or farewell children?235 medical appointments were attended?99 nights were spent by children in hospital?67 nights Farm Managers spent in hospital with a

child?4256 lunches were prepared at the Farm

Genesys - Million dollar supporters

Our inaugural principal sponsor, Genesys Wealth – part of AMP Limited – held their annual conference in Singapore in February and this year the advisers dug deep to reach $1,000,000 donated since our inception. Their enthusiasm continues and we warmly acknowledge this wonderful involvement over the past 14 years.

This is the third year Dimension Data have sponsored and hosted the event and we thank them most sincerely for welcoming us to their offices in South Melbourne.

Winter 2014

Dr Leo's kids at St Vincent's Private

Motaz, Isoa and Thiery have certainly kept 'Dr Leo' busy during the past two years.

Motaz is from Palestine. He's undergone complex limb reconstructive surgery to correct his severely bowed legs. Walking was already a painful struggle for Motaz and would have become worse without surgery. Motaz spent many uncomfortable, sometimes painful months with his legs encased in frames. When the final portion of frame was recently removed from his leg, Motaz was all smiles and said 'This is the first time my legs have been together in ten years'.Nineteen year old Isoa is from Fiji. Since 2010 he's had three trips to Australia to undergo surgery for injuries he sustained to his hip. Isoa formed a strong bond with Motaz and was a wonderful support for him during the long months he was immobile. He returned home in March this year after his final operation.Melbourne couple Roxanne and Thierry LeBlanc met Thiery (photographed below) while touring Madagascar and were determined to help him. They

sought help from Children First and Leo Donnan took up his case. His surgery was in June 2013 and the outcome is truly remarkable. Thiery returned home in May. His story appeared in the Sunday Herald Sun and can be found in the news section on our website.

Winter 2014

Kashmala, from Pakistan, was injured last September when a

bomb was exploded as the congregation was leaving church. As a result of her

injuries, Kashmala's leg was amputated and her other leg sustained serious injuries. Her

first operation was in April and she's now recovering at

Children First Farm.

Mr David Chong performed the first stage of two year old Job's cleft palate repair last year. Job is back in Australia to have the second stage of surgery in July. He looks fabulous already!

Before

After

Gerry would have gone home to Tanzania many months ago if not for a minor set-back involving a trampoline!Gerry had extreme leg deformities that required amputation of both legs. Gerry was learning to walk and gain a sense of balance on his new prosthetic legs and doing very well. Unfortunately trampolining was not part of his recovery plan and it was back to theatre for Mr Ian Torode to replace the resulting broken pin. Thanks to Richard Frejer at OAPL he's back on his new legs again - with no trampolining.

Another two children have been treated at St Vincent's recently.

Winter 2014

Monash Medical Centre

Sevelina arrived from Tanzania in August. She had a colostomy and previous surgery in her country of birth had left the seven year old with complicated internal anatomy. Following surgery with Mr Chris Kimber and the team at Monash Children's and many months of treatment her colostomy has been removed. It's wonderful to know this little girl can now lead a normal life.

Two year old Francis from the Solomon Islands had a cyst with fluid building round his brain. The result was an enlarged head and developmental delays. After Mr Chris Xenos operated at Monash Children's we watched this little boy's development progress immediately. He and his mum returned home before Christmas

Jhonny from The Philippines had a fronto nasal encephalocele which caused a large facial disfigurement. In March a surgical team lead by Mr James Leong volunteered their time to operate at Dandenong Hospital. Jhonny's post surgery stitches are healing and we can already see the beautiful face that had been hidden. Children First and Interplast were pleased to work together to help this little boy.

Donation and his mother Ireen from the Solomon Islands were our first 2014 arrivals. After a short stay at the Farm they were off to Adelaide for surgery with Mr Mark Moore and the team at the Cranio-Facial Unit. Surgery was successful and he's already returned home.

Adelaide Women's and Children's

Winter 2014

Winter 2014

Cabrini

Kingsford is a young adult from Papua New Guinea. He was born with Hirschsprung's disease and had a colostomy since he was only 2 months old. Surgeons Associate Professor Paul McMurrick and Mr Chris Kimber with the team at Cabrini operated to repair his bowel and remove the colostomy enabling him to look forward to living a normal life.

Before returning home in April Kingsford wrote a moving letter thanking everyone who helped him. In his letter he pledged to be a lifetime friend to the surgeons 'whose hands saved my life', and thanked his guardian angels Pat and Michelle at the Farm.

'All my life I have asked for this (surgery)' he wrote, 'and now God has answered my prayer. So now I thank God for all of you and ask him to bless you all.' Bless you too Kingsford!

Margarita from East Timor had a progressive deformity of her spine. Mr Michael Johnson performed major surgery with the team at Cabrini in March this year. Margarita is a delight and recovering well at Children First Farm.

Almost three years after suffering horrific burns to 65% of her body in Fiji, Roberta returned to Sydney's Westmead Children's Hospital in January for further treatment. Children First and ROMAC together provided funds for her care, enabling Dr John Harvey to travel to Fiji to assist with her initial treatment before she was well enough to come to Australia. She was not expected to survive which makes the extent of her recovery all the more incredible.

Westmead Children's Hospital

Winter 2014

Between the Gaps provides funds for disadvantaged Australian families who are struggling to pay for recommended mobility or learning aids for their disabled children. Submissions for support have increased significantly and since 2011 we have been able to provide assistance to 127 families. Chiara is one of the children we recently helped.When she was four months old her parents were given devastating news. Their beautiful baby girl was diagnosed with neurological conditions affecting the development of her brain, and causing life-long disability. Chiara's condition causes her to stiffen up and arch her back significantly. She is not able to be placed in a reclining position, she cannot tolerate lying in a pram, or sitting in a car seat. For Chiara's parents completing necessary household tasks or outings outside the home were near impossible. With the help of physiotherapists at Noah's Ark in Heidelberg, the family found a specialist seating system that would enable Chiara to be positioned comfortably. But such life changing items don't come cheaply and at a total cost of $12,270 it seemed beyond the family's reach, until Chiara's physiotherapist contacted Children First. With a contribution of $4193 from the State-wide Equipment Program, Children First supporter Zig Inge agreed to provide the balance of $8077.In a letter of thanks, Chiara's mother Natalie wrote, 'It has enabled us as a family to transport Chiara out into the world comfortably. It's wonderful to be able to drop off my other daughter Gracie to kinder, as we set off on foot.' These are such simple activities but what an enormous difference it makes.

SnapshotsThe submissions to Between the Gaps indicate the vast needs that exist for families with disabled or chronically ill children in our community. These are some children we have assisted during the past year.

John has been diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. This is a progressive condition where John slowly loses the ability to use his muscles. Bathroom modification will allow his mother to care for him with greater ease and provides him with greater opportunity for independence.

Anne is a 2 year old girl with cerebral palsy. She has a very bent/flexed spine which is starting to rotate. Anne has significant developmental delay and co-morbidities including hydrocephalus. Anne is commencing kinder and requires a standing frame to support herself.

Joel suffers from severe cerebral palsy, he has a cochlear implant and is non verbal. Joel is incontinent and wears nappies at all times. He requires a second skin, which will enable him to sit comfortably with less support, give him more stability and control over his trunk so that he is able to use his upper and lower limbs more effectively.

Angelina has cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus and epilepsy. She also has developing scoliosis of her spine. She is profoundly physically and intellectually disabled. She requires a comfortable seating system as she spends majority of her day in a bed reclined to alleviate her pain.

Ryan underwent a kidney transplant. His father was the donor and will remain in hospital for some time. This is a low income family and now that the father is not working it is very difficult for them to meet all the expenses. $200 food vouchers and $100 petrol vouchers were provided to assist them.

Modified bathroom - $8000

Standing frame - $1370

Second skin – $2050

Seating system - $5690

Support vouchers - $300

Between The Gaps - Helping Australian families

Winter 2014

Winter 2014

A visit from the Governor

We were honoured to welcome our Patron in Chief, the Hon Alex Chernov AC, QC, Governor of Victoria and Mrs Chernov to the Farm in November last year. During the visit His Excellency planted a tree to mark this special occasion, and spent time meeting the children and volunteers. The children impressed us all with their performance of 'Give me a home among the gum trees'

Celebrating Mothers Day

Mothers Day may have been more than a week away, but that didn't deter 120 women from gathering to celebrate its coming and raise much needed funds for Children First at High Tea at The Gables.Guests barely had time to inspect the contents of their Priceline gift bags before the champagne was poured and delectable pastries, cakes, scones and sandwiches were served.Children First children Margarita, Kylie and Gerry were guests of honour in the care of Farm Manager Pat Weldon. Very brave of Gerry and Pat to be the lone males amongst all the women!Our guest speaker, craniofacial surgeon Mr David Chong, took a break from the operating theatre to come and tell us about his work. David works half time at the Royal Children 's Hospital, has an adult practice and travels three times each year to do humanitarian work. Somehow he also finds time to

operate on Children First children, one of the many surgeons who offer their skills pro-bono. “I feel blessed to have found something I love to do.” David told MC Dee Dee Dunleavy. It's true to say we could have listened to him all afternoon.We are thrilled that the fabulous amount of $5260 was raised and will be used to purchase a mobile day bed for the Rehabilitation Farm at Kilmore. Children recovering from surgery will be able to be moved comfortably and safely so they can interact with the other children while they rest and recuperate.Thanks to our generous sponsors and supporters – Dee Dee Dunleavy from Melbourne radio 3AW, Children First sponsor Priceline, hatsroc, Clifton Productions, Pure Elements, Young Living Essential Oil, Blondes to Brunettes Salon and The Gables and event organisers Fiona Langley, Merryn Maher, Kim Myers, Lesley Rocchi, Rhonda Ross and Wendy Yarnell. And thanks to everyone who came along to support Children First!

Winter 2014 Edition 20 Newsletter

Annual End-of-financial-year AppealBy partnering with Children First Foundation you will be helping some of the world's most disadvantaged children to gain access to medical care that is denied them. You will also help Australian families unable to find the funds needed to provide mobility and learning aids recommended by clinicians for their disabled children.

Thank you for your generous gift

Personal Details:

First Name:.................................................................

Last Name:.................................................................

Address:.....................................................................

....................................................................................

Telephone:.................................................................

Email:..........................................................................

Your tax deductible donation will transform a child's life.

Please accept my donation of $40 $75 $100 $200

Other amount (please specify):$___________________________

Cheque or please debit my credit card Visa Mastercard

Card Number:.... ..... ..... ...../..... ..... ..... ...../..... ..... ..... ...../..... ..... ..... .....

Exp date: ........../.......... Name on card ............................................................

Signature..................................................................................................................

Please make cheque payable to Children First Foundation

Mail to Children First Foundation, 66 Chapman Street North Melbourne 3051

or donate online: www.childrenfirstfoundation.org.au

Australian Program

International Program

$2000 will provide Allied Health Services for an Australian child

$750 will contribute to medical aids for an Australian child

$500 will contribute to a child's return airfare

$5000 will cover a return airfare for a child and guardian

$500 will contribute to a prosthetic leg and enable a child to walk

$5000 will buy a prosthetic leg

$75 will provide a Winter Welcome Pack containing pyjamas, slippers/warm socks, under-wear OR a Winter Clothing Pack containing a pair of track pants, warm jumper, t-shirt, shoes (purchased from the OpShop or bargain chain store)

$40 will provide a toiletries pack for home or hospital

Chiara from Australia

Gift from Malawi

ACN 088 112 261