The Patience Project

The Patience Project was created in 2018 to honour a commitment made by the Martel family, to Liam, their son and brother. Before his death in December 2016, aged 16, Liam asked his family to “spend some time trying to make the lives of teenagers who are diagnosed with a long-term illness easier".

It would have been easier for them if he had been more specific but he left the challenge up to them!

The Patience Project’s purpose is to encourage and support those young people who through illness, injury, disability or geographical isolation face either exclusion or some difficulty in accessing their supporting communities, whether that be their home, school or wider whanau.

From the outset The Patience Project has taken a research led approach to achieving this goal, collaborating with the Starship Foundation and the University of Auckland to both prove the effectiveness of the services provided and to continue to refine how the services are delivered.

There are over 200 New Zealand children aged between 5 and 17 diagnosed with a significant illness every year requiring long term treatment. Our goal is to help every single one of these young people.