When Melissa Vining’s husband, Blair, was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer, he was told his wait to see an oncologist would be longer than he was expected to live. Realising they couldn’t wait for the government to act, Blair and Melissa set their sights on an unimaginable project – building a charity hospital to provide care for Southlanders.

Over the course of the following months, Southlanders came together to make magic happen, donating their time and resources to bring the project to life. In total, more than $5 million was raised to build the hospital and purchase medical equipment and early next year, Southland Charity Hospital will be welcoming its first patients.