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Home / New Zealand

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern shares letter from a young fan on Children's Day

NZ Herald
1 Mar, 2020 07:50 PM3 mins to read

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Jacinda Ardern has shared some heartwarming correspondence.

Jacinda Ardern has shared some heartwarming correspondence.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has revealed one of the "best parts" of her role, sharing a letter from a young girl to mark New Zealand Children's Day yesterday.

Ardern posted the note on Instagram, writing: "Without question this is one of the best parts of my job - letters from children. I seriously underestimated how many there would be, but I still read every single one."

The note, which comes complete with a drawing, reads

Dear Jacinda,

I would like to be a leader at my school one day. Mummy said you might some ideas for me about how to be a kind leader.

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Love Emilia

View this post on Instagram

Without question this is one of the best parts of my job - letters from children. I seriously underestimated how many there would be, but I still read every single one. This Children’s Day I want to say thanks to the hundreds and hundreds of kids who believe in the simple power of a letter (and drawing!) No matter how many years pass, I hope they all hold onto that belief that they can make a difference....because they already do.

A post shared by Jacinda Ardern (@jacindaardern) on Feb 29, 2020 at 11:07pm PST

Ardern took the opportunity to thank the hundreds of Kiwi kids "who believe in the simple power of a letter" and have flooded her mailbox with letters since she became Prime Minister.

"No matter how many years pass, I hope they all hold onto that belief that they can make a difference....because they already do," she wrote.

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READ MORE:
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• Coronavirus: Jacinda Ardern urges calm as panicked shoppers empty supermarket shelves
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It's not the first time that Ardern has shared some of this heartwarming correspondence, previously revealing that an 11-year-old had tried to bribe her into funding research into dragons.

The Prime Minister returned the $5, but promised to keep an eye out for the dragons, adding "Do they wear suits?"

She also posted to Instagram showing the place children's letters have in her bulging bag of documents.

View this post on Instagram

Even though this is the usual weekend bag of reading and papers, I never get tired of the section dedicated to children’s letters that have arrived that week. Total highlight!

A post shared by Jacinda Ardern (@jacindaardern) on Jun 16, 2018 at 1:47am PDT

Parents responded to yesterday's post to thank the Prime Minister for replying to some of the children.

One wrote: "My daughter was so thrilled to receive an email back from you. We were amazed that someone in your position took the time to do it. She will never forget it."

Another commented: "Both my daughters wrote to you last year, to discuss their concerns for the environment and to raise the profile of our teachers and the fabulous work they do, they were 7 and 9.

"The fact that you took the time to respond to them absolutely blew them away. It gave them faith that their opinions matter and that everyone has a voice for change."

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