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| Our Sir Lowrys Pass Support Group |
At the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, the international community reached consensus on working to achieve eight critical economic and social development priorities by 2015. In the words of Pres. Jacob Zuma “South Africa has committed to the eight Millennium Development Goals and embraced them into a national set of priorities.” (Stats SA, Millennium Development Goals Country Report 2010)
The eight MDGs are in their numerical order:
1. To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. To achieve universal primary education
3. To promote gender equality and empower women
4. To reduce child mortality
5. To improve maternal health
6. To combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. To ensure environmental sustainability
8. To develop a global partnership for development
As the readers of an NGO newsletter, you might be wondering why we would be concerned with these Goals. To me, they are vital. I know these goals and I actively work towards achieving these goals with my government. As an active, responsible citizen, I strive to better my neighborhood, my country, to develop our resources and stand shoulder to shoulder with my sisters.
Thembalitsha is occupied by all of the 8 Goals, working persistently to achieve them. At Bosom Buddies, we are involved in goals 3, 4 and 5. The empowerment of women (specifically mothers) is our primary objective, and we exist and grow towards this. Our educational features have become crucial to who we are and what we would like to achieve. This goes hand-in-hand with the following 2 MDGs. South Africa struggles with these. Human Rights Watch has reported that maternal mortality has increased in SA. Obviously the factors that contribute to these are complex, but education lies at the base of it and this is where Bosom Buddies is working at providing antenatal education for the mothers in our region. We partner with the antenatal clinics, and cover basic subjects such as Foetal Alcohol Syndrome, danger signs in pregnancy, how labour works and what to expect, breastfeeding etc.
The support group format is tremendously successful, as it creates a space for women to come together, a safe space to share and encourage. We facilitate these groups, we educate, minister and love without judgement or criticism. But the thought is that when we pack up and leave, the women have formed lifelong friendships and supportive bonds.
In South Africa our child mortality rates are alarmingly high and maternal mortality rates are rising. Again the complex reasons behind this are too vast to go into here, but note that a large percentage of these deaths are preventable. As far as we’re concerned, we believe that through education, support and constant guidance, we can make a real difference.
In the partnership between public healthcare and BB, we aim to form a holistic care for our mothers. Our groups are about more than antenatal and baby care, it is about life and lifestyle, finding the voice in the mother. I encourage our women to know their rights, to demand quality service and to ask questions.
Our ultimate aim is to significantly reduce stillbirths and infant deaths and to elevate maternal well-being in our area and we even dream of going further afield. Watch this space.
