Pictures: Emily Chalk.
Dame Valerie Adams wraps her two kids in warm hugs as they arrive home from school on a stormy Friday afternoon.
Six-year-old Tava is lugging Caleb, his class mascot, a yellow cuddly toy octopus that he’s caring for over the weekend. His big sister Kimoana, seven, is excitedly chatting about staying with an aunt and watching her cousin, Tall Ferns star Sharne Ropati, play basketball against Australia.
It’s cosy and warm inside their beautiful, light-filled home in southeast Auckland. That’s a long way from the houses the double Olympic gold medallist lived in as a child.
“I hated winters as a kid,” says Valerie, 40. “I could never, ever get warm and I never wanted to go to the bathroom at night. We had wooden windows with thin glass and condensation running down the walls. Everything was mouldy and gross.”
It’s why Valerie is so passionate leading the Jammie Army, rallying supporters to donate pyjamas and blankets to keep tamariki in South Auckland warm and well this winter.
“These kids have probably never had pyjamas or at least haven’t had new pyjamas before,” she tells. “I know what that’s like. I see the look of pure joy on the kids’ faces when they get something brand new and I understand what a big deal it is for them.”
And single mum Valerie makes sure her own kids understand why the Jammies for June campaign matters. She reminds them how fortunate they are to have a warm, dry home.
“There’s a collection box at their school and my kids take brand-new jammies to donate,” she says. “We’ll also go out and collect donations from other people. If my kids ask me why, I say, ‘Because Sione doesn’t have a pair of pyjamas, so we’re helping get him some.’
“My kids are still young, so how much goes in now, I don’t know. But this gives them the opportunity to see what’s happening and go do it themselves.”
While the retired Kiwi shot-put legend still travels the world in her role advocating for athletes across the globe and is finding her feet in sports governance, Kimoana and Tava remain her top priority. Valerie is both gentle and firm with them as they change into their pyjamas for our shoot.
“The kids are doing great,” she says, adding that their Aunty Becca also helps out, especially when Valerie is away.
They have their own set of challenges – Kimoana has autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Tava has type 1 diabetes. Diagnosed five years ago, he now wears a small sensor on his arm that constantly monitors the glucose in his blood, sending readings to his mum’s mobile phone every five minutes. It works with an insulin pump he carries in a pouch on his back.
“He’s a box of birds,” Valerie says of her son, who’s inherited his gorgeous tight curls from Valerie’s late mum Lilika. “He’s getting smart, though, and he yells out from bed, ‘Mum, I’m going low – I need a jellybean!’ But I can see his levels on my phone and I know he’s fine.”
Kimoana is learning ballet, which is helping with her ASD, adds Valerie. “The discipline, the direction, her toe pointing and everything… I don’t quite know what that means as I’m definitely not a dance mom, but I know she loves it!”
Tava has started playing football, which means early starts on Saturday mornings.
“He tried a season of ripper rugby, but he doesn’t like tackling or hurting people,” tells Valerie. “I’m much more comfortable being a soccer mom!”
After two decades as an elite athlete, Valerie’s career is still evolving and flourishing. As chair of the Athletes’ Commission for World Athletics, she’s striving to give all sportspeople a voice.
“As an organisation, we’ll be getting involved in a gender-based violence campaign after the deaths of several female athletes,” says Valerie.
“The goal is to create a safe and inclusive environment where the athletes are free from abuse, harassment or exploitation.
“We want to know how we can be there for the athletes. How we can we bring more awareness to gender-based violence and how we can work together to find a solution.”
She also feels focused on empowering Pasifika track and field athletes, with a personal connection to her Tongan roots.
“It’s about getting Polynesian athletes to open up and talk about what’s going on for them,” says Valerie. “I spent a week in Tonga before Christmas, running a wellbeing workshop, and reviving their athletes’ commission with new and passionate members who want to make a difference.
“You have to communicate with your people in a way they understand and don’t see as a threat.
“It can be difficult to forge those connections if you don’t understand the culture and the community. You need their trust to create a safe space where there are no repercussions for speaking up. My heart is overflowing with hope for Tonga and the future of sport there.”
Her Kiwi connection is an asset in her World Athletics role too. Valerie explains, “Athletics is very Euro-centric, so as a Kiwi, I’m able to see the broader issues and represent those smaller nations whose voices aren’t usually heard.
“I love connecting with the athletes and getting their input on issues we’re facing as a sport. Sometimes it’s difficult for athletes to get their heads around those things, but it’s important they do.”
Valerie is also finding her place in governance on the board of High Performance Sport New Zealand. She has a passion to elevate Pasifika voices to add value to an evolving high-performance landscape, working alongside former Silver Ferns star Sulu Fitzpatrick and others in the Pasifika community.
She says, “We’re focused on the power of our culture and Pacific excellence.”
Somehow, she also finds the time for speaking engagements, working with her sponsors and attending specialist appointments for her children. She’s also involved in Women’s Health Week and the Pink Shirt Day campaign against bullying.
But she gets “really excited” about being the hands-on ambassador for Jammies for June, which is improving kids’ health for three years running.
“It really hits the spot,” she smiles. “I feel so passionate about this cause and giving back to my community.”
Last year, a record 25,800 pyjamas and blankets were donated, then delivered to children in Kidz First Hospital and the 76 South Auckland primary schools that the Middlemore Foundation supports through its Mana Kidz health programme.
The campaign was born out of concern for the many tamariki admitted to Kidz First Hospital with preventable respiratory illnesses, like asthma and rheumatic fever, caused by living in cold, damp homes. Keeping kids warm at night helps support their immune systems to fight off viruses, Valerie explains.
“It’s eye-opening going into hospital and seeing families in need. I’m from that community, and I understand what it’s like to live in a house that’s cold, wet, damp and mouldy – all things that are preventable.
“Unfortunately, you need the resources and money to make those changes. If we can just keep kids warm through winter, we have a higher chance of keeping them out of hospital. It’s not big, but it’s something.”
To launch this year’s campaign, Valerie delivered 563 pairs of warm PJs to her old school, Māngere East Primary.
“One of my wonderful teachers, Mrs Phillips, is still teaching there,” she grins. “Her grandkids go to the school now! It’s just so awesome to see how the school has grown and how happy the kids are.
“The teachers are trying their hardest to help our kids and the Mana Kidz school nurses are trying to prevent the kids ending up in hospital, educating the parents on how to keep their houses warm.
“I feel it’s my job to bring this to the forefront of people’s minds who don’t suffer through winters. When I hear the stories of these young children in need, it brings a tear to my eye and pulls at my heartstrings. You would have to have a cold heart for it not to.”
The Middlemore Foundation’s Jammies for June campaign is on now. For more info and to donate, visit jammiesforjune.org.nz.
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