VILLAGE BIRTH ATTENDANTS (VBA) ON-GOING TRAINING PROGRAM
Women in PNG are 35 times more likely to die in childbirth than in Australia. CFK has successfully improved the quality of maternity care services that have saved the lives of women and babies. Our ongoing project is to provide more training on Kiriwina in essential and emergency maternal and newborn health skills.
Health & Hygiene Committee
A CFK tidy village initiative. Rubbish is an extreme issue on Kiriwina and we try and do what we can to help try and clean up Kiriwina.
Midwife Training initiative
The population of Kiriwina, according to the 2020 census, is approx. 55,000, including the remote surrounding Islands. There still needs to be a Doctor and one trained Midwife. We are raising funds to support employing trained Kiriwinan midwives to support the CFK VBA program on the ground all year round. Our goal is to set up trained midwives across the vast distances of the Island, close enough to support all the VBAs—a very big commitment by all involved.
Education
We send educational supplies to the Schools on Kiriwina. Caring for Kiriwina’s first primer book translated into the Kiriwinian language by Dr Reverend Ralph Lawton, is currently in design and production.
Drinking Water
We are raising funds to promote the supply of clean drinking water. Kiriwina Island is flat, with no rivers and no naturally-occurring fresh drinking water.
P&O Cruises Australia has generously agreed to deliver donations directly to the CFK representative on the island. To counter the black market for donated goods being resold, we have a plan! When you arrive at Kiabola Beach, our representatives will be standing under a CFK banner, ready to receive your donations. Let's ensure fair distribution across the island! :).
Rates of pregnancy have exploded on Kiriwina have increased dramatically, by over 300 % in the last reporting quarter of 2024 and the Kiriwinan people are in urgent need of more birthing kits, delivery equipment and contraception aids.
Our CFK In-Country Manager, Toks Bwaina- A BIG THANKS to DONORS - (Video below)
HELP us support the schools on Kiriwina Project 1: School Educational materials The support from CFK has allowed all the schools on Kiriwina to sit their yearly exams. Due to continual...
BABY TOMAKAM’S CONDITION NEEDS SPECIALIST SURGERY One-month-old Baby Tomakam was born with a fast-growing facial growth that requires specialist surgery. The hospital will review and advise next course of action at...
Hygiene is a critical issue on Kiriwina and this affects all inhabitants, including the women and babies. To help address this issue we have formed the CFK Health & Hygiene Committee....
Schooling is NO LONGER free for all students in PNG, and there is also the cost for boarding at school. There is only one high school on the island, and many...
Currently for the approx. 55,000 Kiriwinans on the Island there is NO Doctor and the two trained Midwives have recently retired. We are raising funds to allow two Kiriwinan women chosen...
COVID 19 has greatly impact the lives of people. Supply of yams and other staple food crops have reduced which will affect the livelihood of people through shortage of food supply...
Kiriwina High School is experiencing a high absenteeism rate of female students who avoid classes while they are menstruating. CFK is supplying Dignity Kits to the school, which include hygiene products...
Strong Women and Strong Babies! Improving the quality of maternity care services can save the lives of women and babies, and our on-going project is to provide on-going support after the...
In rural PNG the mortality rate in childbirth is 1:7, with a maternal mortality rate of 3 in every 1,000 live births. The need for aid here is great. From the...
Rebecca expresses her gratitude for the Kuluwa village CFK water pump, which has helped her community to access clean drinking water and safely deliver babies.
CFK VBA Rebecca, Kuluwa Village (Video above)
Video message from Kiriwina Secondary School Principal Mr. Cyril T.
The supply of Kiriwinan Schools with the basic items essential to teaching and learning is ongoing – please help us help them to produce their future teachers, doctors, nurses, and midwives.
Kiriwina Secondary School Principal Mr. Cyril T. (Video above)
ABOUT CARING FOR KIRIWINA VIDEO – PLEASE WATCH
Credit: A massive thank you to the brilliant Shea Caplice (CFK Midwife) & her fabulously talented son Lincoln Caplice Main speaker: Midwife Florence (Forever in our hearts). Kiriwinan song: dedicated to the late Rev. Dr. Ralph Lawton
Our excellent head of the Village Birth Attendants, Ruth Boaz, works closely with Bokawau to coordinate the over 300 VBAs that CFK has placed across the island.
A vital member of our Village Birth Attendant Team, Dulcie works tirelessly with the rest of our team on the Island to coordinate better outcomes for mothers and babies.
Midwifery Educator, Birthing Services I Royal Hospital for Women Registered nurse/ midwife (27 years spent in the birthing environment) Early childhood health nurse (Tresillian) Masters of Education (University of Wollongong)
Midwifery Educator, Birthing Services , Royal Hospital for Women Registered Nurse Registered Midwife with over 3O years experience Post Grad Dip Independent Practice (Syd Uni) Masters of Midwifery (UTS)
Bokawau, a retired midwife, is a vital staff member at the Caring for Kiriwina office in the Losuia health center. She collaborates with the local health center, conducts training courses, maintains birth records, and...
Project management, logistics, fundraising and good listener! Bachelor of Architecture, working towards creating sustainable buildings on Kiriwina providing a meeting place, toilets, water and power to each village.
‘Caring for Kiriwina’ is a charity set up by the late Margaret Lawton, wife of Dr. Rev. Ralph Lawton, who was stationed on Kiriwina for 12 years; Ralph and Margaret became fluent speakers of the Kiriwinan language, and ultimately aided the Kiriwinan people to translate the entire Bible into the Kiriwinan language and have also been working on creating a Kiriwinan Dictionary, this work has taken approximately 50 years to complete. By creating ‘Caring for Kiriwina’ the Lawton’s have dedicated their lives to the care and advancement of the Kiriwinan people, and their family has committed themselves to continuing to advance this good work for the people of Kiriwina and nearby islands.
Jodi and Doug Lawton - Directors and Vanessa Palfreeman - Co-Director VBA training program, Caring for Kiriwina
