With more than 11,000 people in the Rotorua district living with arthritis, it's almost certain everyone knows someone who is affected.
Today is the start of Arthritis New Zealand's Annual Appeal.
Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in New Zealand and there are more than 140 different forms of it.
The most common are osteoarthritis, gout and rheumatoid arthritis.
While arthritis is often thought of as being an older person's condition, it can affect anyone, at any age, and at any time, and 1000 Kiwi kids have it.
Mireille Ali, 10, from Rotorua, has had juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) since she was 18 months and has been on and off medication ever since. At one stage she was taking six pills a day.
JIA is a type of arthritis that occurs in children under 16. It is an auto-immune condition, which means that, for reasons unknown, a person's immune system becomes confused and attacks normal healthy cells of the body.
It is not known what causes JIA, but it is more common in girls.
Mireille went to the Arthritis New Zealand Children's Camp at Totara Springs Camp, near Matamata, this year. The camp was run in conjunction with the National Paediatric Rheumatology Team and Kids With Arthritis New Zealand. The camp was sponsored by the Jetstar Flying Start programme.
The camp gave Mireille the opportunity to meet other children living with arthritis.
Until then, she did not know anybody else in Rotorua with arthritis, apart from her grandmother.
Mireille also got to enjoy a wide variety of fun activities, including flying fox, flying kiwi, hydroslide, abseiling and slug guns. As well, she got to go to Hobbiton. Attending the camp also gave Mireille the confidence to tell other children and her teacher all about arthritis.
Arthritis New Zealand is a national organisation whose mission is to improve the health and wellbeing of people who are affected by arthritis. It is the leader in the provision of awareness, education, services and advocacy for arthritis in New Zealand.
However it gets only 12 per cent of its funding from government agencies, with the rest coming from donors and sponsors.
During the annual appeal, people can donate by going to www.arthritis.org.nz, or texting "joints" to 5464. Or you can phone (0900) 333 20 to donate $20. As well, street collectors will be out and about during the appeal.