Children who have had to cope with very adult problems took control of East End Reserve on Wednesday. 

The children were in town for the first Taranaki-based Camp Quality trip - a five day getaway for children living with cancer. 

The 70 children, aged between five and 14, had travelled from all over Central North Island for the camp. 

Trish Fryer said this was her sixth camp quality trip as a volunteer. "It's so much fun just to see the kids just having fun. And the smiles on their faces despite what's going on in their lives," she said. 

She said the children on the camp were usually on the mend. "They're pretty much in remission. They're not on treatment when they're here," she said. "Their prognosis is probably relatively good." 

Fryer said each child had a companion during their time on camp. "The kids love it. They go home and they don't stop talking about what happened at camp." 

Riley, 10, of Inglewood was one those those kids having a good time.  "I enjoyed having the dinner - trying new things, playing bat down with Sam and going down on this waterslide," Riley said. "And the day before Camp Quality I couldn't sleep. Well I could sleep, I was out by eight. I went to bed at 7.30 and I was out half an hour later."

Fryer said some children have attended the camp four or five times and some brought along a brother or sister. "If they're a younger child and this is the first time they've been away from home since they're had their illness or whatever, they might need someone," she said. "Sometimes it just gives that family a time where they can do something for themselves after a long time of having hospital visits and things like that."

Camp Quality has been going for about 30 years and there are currently five different camps running annually around the country.

This camp is in Taranaki until Sunday. 

Article by Jane Matthews in the Taranaki Daily News 17 January 2018