Post-Grad Scholarship for A Disabled Person

Kia ora, my name is Bronwyn.

I was born with a rare congenital condition called diastematomyelia and many chronic health conditions. I am now facing the end of my life, because my spine, which didn't develop properly, is crushing my lungs. Everyday tasks are increasingly difficult. I am 50 years old.

I have a dream that I want to share with other Kiwis.

My dream is to establish a post-graduate scholarship for a disabled person to study some aspect of disability. Such a scholarship would be highly innovative and a first in New Zealand. We did the impossible, rallied together and bought a piece of New Zealand. My dream is for us to raise enough money for an enduring scholarship. However due to my health, I can't do this alone, and I am asking for help from you. This would not be for me but but for disabled people for decades to come. I want to raise NZ$100,000 for a post-grad scholarship for Wellington's Victoria University to administer.

Around 24% of us live with some kind of disability. Yet there's little real understanding of its impact on everyday living. Statistics are absent from so many official data sets and studies -income stats, life expectancy stats, suicide stats, sexual assault stats, bullying stats, etc.

I am passionate about changing this. We need to know our disability stats so we can create better policies, infrastructure, services and more empathy for the challenges facing people who live with a disability.

Thank you for helping me, New Zealand.

Ngā mihi Bronwyn Hayward