Welcoming Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro as our new Patron

We are thrilled to announce that Her Excellency, the Right Honourable Dame Cindy Kiro, GNZM, QSO, Governor-General of New Zealand, has accepted our invitation to become a Patron of The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ.

As Patron, Dame Cindy will act as a high-level ambassador, lending her credibility and time to support our work to end avoidable blindness and vision impairment in the Pacific. Receiving patronage from someone of Dame Cindy’s mana is a huge honour for our organisation.

Dame Cindy, who is of Māori and British descent, is a distinguished researcher who has held leadership roles at several New Zealand universities. She has also held several roles in community and voluntary organisations and has advised multiple governments and various ministries. Her public sector roles have included Children’s Commissioner (the first woman and first Māori to be appointed to the role), membership of the Ministerial Cross-Sector Forum for the Ministry of Education, and Chair of the Welfare Expert Advisory Group.

Last year she was made a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to child wellbeing and education in the 2021 New Year Honours. Dame Cindy is the first Māori woman, and the fourth woman to be appointed as Governor-General.

A formal event to welcome Dame Cindy to Team Fred will be planned for later this year.