Couple give $1m for more Pasifika doctors

An Auckland surgeon and his wife have donated $1 million to help Pasifika students qualify as doctors.

Aucklanders John and Rose Dunn are a little self-conscious about having an endowment fund named after themselves.

Their $1m John and Rose Dunn Pasifika Fund will contribute to course fees and accommodation costs through the University of Auckland Foundation.

Although the Dunns have always been philanthropic, they’re normally quiet givers and were reluctant to be interviewed or have the Weekend Herald name the amount donated.

But speaking out about the donation might encourage others to think about giving back, no matter what the amount, John Dunn said.

“I have witnessed the strong exemplar effect as it stimulates others to give. This is not seen with anonymous donations.”

Concerned at the extremely low number of Pasifika doctors in New Zealand (around 2 per cent), the Dunns decided to help redress the balance.

Although Maori medical students were holding their own and doing well, Pasifika students were not, John Dunn said. Failure to complete or pass the six-year medical degree was mainly due to financial pressures and lack of mentoring.

For the past 15 years Dunn has donated his time and equipment to perform ground-breaking laparoscopic surgery at Rarotonga Hospital. He and Texan surgeon Dr Erik Wilson have used a non-invasive technique that involves inserting a light and camera on a long tube down the throat.

Obesity is an issue Dunn is on a mission to conquer. For every stomach operation he performs in the Cook Islands, he’ll tell anyone who will listen that obesity shortens lives by 10 years.

The Dunns are patrons of the Auckland Art Gallery and regular donors to the gallery’s foundation.

And finally, advice from John Dunn: “Someone once told me that philanthropy doesn’t count until it hurts. Therefore choose a level of giving where it is significant. ”