Kidney Health Australia is proud to run kids and youth programs for ages 8-24. They provide the chance to connect, have fun and grow more confident.
Kidney disease affects people of all ages. Some may grow up living with kidney disease, others are diagnosed later in life. For young people living with kidney disease, moving from paediatric to adult health care can be a difficult period to navigate. Read more in our Youth Program State of the Nation Report Summary.
That’s why at Kidney Health Australia, we’ve developed a kids and youth program. The program provides children and young people aged 8-24 with an opportunity to connect, have fun and grow more confident.
Connecting with other young people living with kidney disease can lead to lifelong friendships and offer much-valued peer support. Families and carers also benefit; by sharing experiences, they develop similar relationships and are able to support each other.
Your child will need to be aged 7 or over to participate in our children's programs. For younger children, there are many fantastic family activities they can get involved in that build a sense of community, such as our Big Red Kidney Walks.
Please note some events scheduled for 2020 have been cancelled due to COVID-19. To stay in the loop, please send us an expression of interest at: kids@kidney.org.au.
Each year, the Kidney Kids Camp brings together children living with kidney disease and their siblings from across the country. The camp is held over four days, with an average of 100 kids. Children and young adults aged from 8 to 17 years embark on a series of fun, confidence-building, peer-networking activities.
Living with kidney disease can be isolating. It can be hard to find people to talk to that understand what it means to live with kidney disease.
To help young people create meaningful connections with people that understand what they are going through, we have created a Facebook Group where any and all kidney questions are welcome. The Facebook group will be a safe place to connect, socialise and run events.
The group is moderated by Kidney Health Australia staff and trained volunteers who also live with kidney disease; we call them our Youth Champions.
Entry to the group is only available for young people aged between 15-25 years old who live with kidney disease. If this sounds right for you, please click this link where you can join our Kidney Youth Australia Facebook Group.
If you do not fit the criteria, there are patient-led support groups you can explore called Kidney Clubs.