• VILLAGE BIRTH ATTENDANTS (VBA) ON-GOING TRAINING PROGRAM

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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.

Featured News

Latest news

Attention all Cruise Ship Passengers!

To counter the black market for donated goods being resold, we have a plan! Let's ensure fair distribution across the island! Please contact us directly to organise a secure receipt of goods on the Island:).

Projects

PROJECTS THAT NEED YOUR HELP

  • CFK Dignity Kits Project

    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...

  • VBA training Project

    Ongoing Project

    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...

  • SPECIAL PROJECT: BABY TOMAKAM APPEAL

    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...

  • LHC/CFK Mobile Health Clinic

    Project starts on the 9th October 2024

    We are thrilled to announce the launch of the Losuia Health Centre and Caring for Kiriwina Mobile Health Clinic, starting on October 9th, 2024. This joint clinic will provide medical services...

  • Clean Drinking Water Project

    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. While the underground water table is...

  • CFK School Fee Scholarship Project

    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...

  • Local Midwife Training Project

    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...

  • Birthing Kits and other safe delivery supplies project

    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...

  • Health & Hygiene Project

    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....

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 Staff

    • Jacqui Andrews

      Primary Healthcare Midwife educator

      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)

    • Steven Baxter & Jeff Keating

      Accounts and Fundraising

    • Dulcie Toposona

      Part of the Village Birth Attendant Leadership Team

      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.

    • Toks Bwaina

      In-Country Manager

    • Vanessa Palfreeman

      Co-Director - Caring For Kiriwina

      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.

    • Shea Caplice

      Primary Healthcare Midwife educator

      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)

    • Doug Lawton

      Co-Director - Caring For Kiriwina

    • Ruth Boaz

      Head VBA

      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.

Testimonials

About Us

  • ‘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

News Archive