Help Archie get gender affirming top surgery!

Kia ora, I’m Archie (he/they), a late bloomer who took a long time to figure out I was trans! I’ve had gender dysphoria for many years but not had the words or knowledge to understand what this was, let alone the education or role models to know I could actually do something about it.

For a long time I ignored these feelings, fearful of the consequences transition might have for my relationships (and safety!). However with support of my amazing friends I’ve finally embraced being me and am so much happier in myself! I now generally get gendered correctly by strangers, however have to wear a binder to be gendered correctly which is super uncomfortable - and unsafe for exercising. I work in conservation which is very physical, and tramping is my mental health outlet so this is really hard to deal with!

In the Canterbury/ West Coast DHB only 5 funded top surgeries are performed annually, and to even get on the waitlist you need ‘persistent and well-documented dysphoria’ from a psychiatrist/psychologist. Even if I had the knowledge to pursue this I wouldn’t have been able to afford to for most of my life! The other options are private surgery in NZ, which runs $20-30k, or heading overseas which is around $15k. I’m saving hard myself as well and any contributions are hugely appreciated for my quality of life!