We are so proud of our expansion into the education field of preventative healthcare. This is what we are passionate about and in our purpose to actively and positively impact infant mortality and morbidity rates we are working without ceasing.
We are pleased to now officially partner with the City of Cape Town as well as the Department of Health in the campaign of breastfeeding education and support. As of this month, we are happy to announce the employment of another amazing and experienced breastfeeding counsellor, Liezl Bantham. For the past 8 years she has worked as a peer counsellor at the Macassar Day Hospital and she will now be a part of the Bosom Buddies team, educating at clinics in Eersteriver, Grabouw, Strand and Gordons Bay. For our next newsletter, we promise an introductory interview with Liezl.
I had the privilege to be invited to lecture at the Khayelitsha District Hospital’s quarterly 20-hour training in breastfeeding management. The training of nursing staff and peer counsellors falls under our mission and it is in recognition of the work we are doing and the expertise and respect we have garnered in our field that we are invited to participate in the training of staff.
My colleague from the Village of Hope, Tim, introduced me to a woman who looks after 10 children, all under 2 years old, in her shack in Grabouw’s Iraq settlement. Visiting her home was another sobering reminder of the need in our urban townships. All these children are cared for without easy access to running water or electricity. The shack is bare of any furnishings and the children had no toys or any other form of stimulation. I realise of course that our preoccupation with breastfeeding and education has limits, especially for those mothers who have to go to work and need to leave their babies in the care of a woman without a fridge or means for heating expressed breast milk. It is equally as difficult for her to properly sterilise and mix formula bottles. It is near impossible for the mother to express and keep breast milk without a fridge, especially during the summer months. This dilemma disconcerts and disturbs me, since no obvious solution can be found. This is just another reminder of how desperation forces our mothers to make very difficult decisions.
Please support our Miles for Moms team. We are running up a mountain for our cause on 5 May! Next month we will have results and pictures.
ALSO! - If you've not checked out our new film 'Ovayo's Story of Hope' please do and let us know what you think!
