Happy Mother's Day

Well today is Mother's Day, since my Mum lives in Tasmania and my Mother In Law lives in the Solomon Islands my hubby and I don't really get to celebrate the day with our leading ladies. (I did however send my Mum a really beautiful bouquet) This post is really just a brag sesh about the kiddos at the school I work at.  Every term in Chapel we have a local and a global giving focus, aside from our weekly offering for our sponsor child through Compassion. We are really had it on our hearts to  generate a spirit of generosity amongst the students this year. The students are in years 4-7.  Our Mother's Day chapel service happened to coincide with our global giving week. I thought it would be really fitting to give toward the Bloggers for birthkits movement as it goes toward something that greatly affects Mothers in third world nations such as PNG. 

Anyways, you never know with the kids how much money they will give...in our first time doing it they gave $15. This past global giving focus at our Mother's Day chapel saw the kids bring in over $170. I was blown away by their generosity and excited to think of how many birth kits could be assembled with that money. 

So be encouraged. When there is a good cause you believe in, don't be afraid to rally your troops-friends, colleagues from work,  blogging community, family- whoever you have in your sphere of influence to make a collective difference in our world.   

I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend being celebrated or celebrating your Mum!

Mother's Day

With Mother's Day just around the corner I thought it very fitting to promote something that makes for not only a beautiful but life-giving gift idea. Bloggers for birth kits aims to reduce maternal mortality in developing nations.

Adriel who blogs at the The Mommyhood Memos has started this unique campaign to assemble and send these clean birth kits over to Papua New Guinea, where the rate of maternal death is 1 in 7. 

"Did you know that a simple clean birth kit can help save a mom’s life? Did you know that for around $2-3 you can assemble one? Did you know that everything you need to make one can be found easily and quickly at your local hardware store and pharmacy. Look how simple these clean birth kits are…"

Clean Birth Kit specifics

1. Soap (for the birth attendant to wash her hands). Use a hotel-size soap or cut a regular bar of soap into 1/8-sized pieces. (Microwave the bar of soap for 30 seconds to soften it for cutting).
2. One pair of plastic gloves (for the birth attendant to wear).
3. Five squares of gauze (to wipe the mum’s perineum and baby’s eyes). Gauze pieces should be about 10×10 centimeters or 3×3 inches.
4. One blade (to cut the cord). You can buy individually wrapped sterile blades at the pharmacist or buy utility blades (much cheaper) at the hardware store. We teach the women to boil the blades for sterilization, so utility blades work just fine.
5. Three pieces of string (2 for tying the cord, 1 for “just in case”). String should be about 30 centimeters or 10 inches long.
6. One plastic sheet (for a clean birthing surface). Sheet should be approximately 1×1 meter or 1×1 yard and can be purchased at your hardware or paint store.
7. One sandwich-size ziplock bag (to pack the contents).

Here are ways Adriel says we can get involved:

How to get involved in Bloggers for Birth Kits:

1. Make a birth kit. Assemble one yourself or gather a group of girlfriends, a moms group, work associates, or a church group to make a box full of them! Mail your kits to: Adriel Booker, Bloggers for Birth Kits, PO Box 6221, Townsville, Queensland, 4810, Australia
2. Donate for a birth kit to be made on your behalf. ($10 will buy 5 kits!) All donations for B4BK go toward the assembly and distribution of kits, as well as maternal care education. Make your online donation here. Please be sure to write “Bloggers for Birth Kits” in the box that says “additional comments” so the funds will be allocated properly!
3. Help raise awareness by posting about the cause on your blog, facebook, pinterest, and twitter. (Please use the hash tag #B4BirthKits!)
4. Add the Bloggers for Birth Kits button to your blog. (See the side bar for code.)
You can also watch this video that I made last year. (Feel free to repost it or link to it.) During the first part I tell the story of how B4BK was born, and from the 3-minute mark you can see step-by-step instructions for how to assemble your own kit.

Why not donate some kits or money on behalf of your Mum for a Mother's day present. Adriel will send you a printable document to include in your card for Mothers day... Now I have simply copy and pasted snippets from Adriel's full article from her blog...so for the full story and of course to check out her inspirational parenting blog please click  here.