We celebrate all midwives worldwide with a special thank you to our CFK educators and VBAs for their outstanding achievements over the past ten years. Here is a speech and photos from our LAWTON day reporting trip to Kiriwina held during the last two weeks of April.
Now the VBAs have been following the education now women are recognised, especially the VBAs. Women are counted now. A great legacy.
CFK head VBA Ruth Boaz speaks about Margaret’s legacy
Video: CFK Head VBA Ruth Boaz praises Margaret Lawton’s legacy
Video 2: CFK VBAs sing a thank you song to the CFK midwife educators Shea Caplice and Jacqui Andrews.
Smiles all around at the distribution of donations by the VBA’s 1.1.2023.
Thanks to all our sponsors/donors, Australia post and the mammoth efforts of our in-country manager, our donations finally arrived on Kiriwina for distribution. Yay!
Here are excerpts from the letter we sent to our newly appointed Foreign Minister over the weekend. Let’s get this quality aid intervention reinstated as a priority!!!
In 2018 CFK received an Australian Government Friendship Grant which funded our delivery of several midwifery education sessions on Kiriwina for the local VBAs. This was undertaken by two wonderful midwife educators from the Royal Hospital for Women, Randwick NSW (for details see this link: https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/nsw_-_caring_for_kiriwina.png.) Our experience and feedback from these short and intensive sessions highlighted the importance of ongoing training and education for the VBA volunteers whose work in the community is literally lifesaving.
Unfortunately, COVID put a hold on the Friendship Grants and therefore the continuing of these in-country training activities over the last few years. While CFK continues its core commitment to the Kiriwina people, we are extremely aware of the critical need of trained and educated personnel overseeing midwifery and birthing support both at the local Health Clinic and in the community.
We ask if DFAT is proposing to reinstate the Friendship Grants scheme. It was an excellent mechanism for providing important aid to our closest neighbour, amongst others. Small and focused charities such as ours are well placed to provide quality overseas aid at a grass roots level to vulnerable communities, and the reinstatement of such a scheme would greatly improve the health and well being of some of our poorest neighbours, not to mention be a great thing for our countries as well.
Caring for Kiriwina wishes a Happy International Women’s Day to all those women who Choose to Challenge. RESPECT! #ChooseToChallenge. #InternationalWomensDay, #women, #respect, #CaringforKiriwina
Caring For Kiriwina Projects Progress well despite COVID November 2020 issue below:
November 2020
e-NEWS CFK progress despite COVID
Happy Kiriwinan Mothers with their VBA delivered babies in their donated knitted clothing.
Our Caring for Kiriwina in-country manager Toks recently reported back on the continued success of our 8 projects implemented across the Island despite COVID restrictions. Here is an update on several of the projects below. A special thanks to our sponsors, donors and volunteers for their continued support to enable us to make this all happen.
Toks with Fellows Circuit VBA’s and presented the birthing kits and soap to them. They distributed the birthing kits as follows: Luba 2 circuit, Kilivila 1 circuit, Fellows – circuit.
In the next delivery, will extend to the other circuit VBA’s.
Pencils donated to Losuia Elementary School.
Pens were distributed to the Grade 10 students in time for their Final National Examination from 19-23 October 2020 and Grade 8 Final National Examination from 2-4 November 2020. What a great help!!!
The rest of the pens and pencils were distributed to the following schools: Kiriwina Secondary School, Oyabia Primary School, Wapipi Primary School, Kavataria Elementary School, Mulosaida/Oyabia Elementary School, Oyabia Primary school, Losuia Primary School, Launakalana Primary School.
Pencils donated to Losuia Primary School.
Pencils donated to Mulosaida and Oyabia Elementary schools.
Pencils donated to Kavataria Elementary School.
The happy faces of our Kiriwina Secondary School Fee recipients after receiving their official Awards.
Photo of 14 out of 20 Kiriwina Secondary School recipients of CFK scholarship School Fee program with the Deputy Headmaster, Mr Esau Topirim.
Toks met Will Koega for an update on the water pumps in the following locations: Kavataria village water pump, Kiriwina Secondary School female water pump, Kiriwina Secondary School male water pump, Kenobasi water pump, Kuluwa water pump.
Mr Koega confirmed that all five pumps are in good condition working perfectly well. The 18 water buckets brought from Port Moresby were the correct sizes, which is a relief for CFK and the communities as the pumps will now be maintained with new water buckets to keep them operating to serve the communities with clean drinking water.
The details of a new larger water pump (that has been advertised to work for 20 years) that CFK has purchased and will be installing as a trial were presented to our CFK plumber for him to familiarise himself with the new pumps parts and functions.
Delivery of water buckets for the pumps. The water buckets were the right sizes for the pumps so it is a relief for CFK and the communities to have the water pumps in good condition and operating.
Kavataria water pump in action.
Kiriwina Secondary School Girls Pump in action. Boys pump to right.
Both girls and boys pumps are in good condition and providing clean drinking water, washing and laundry to the students.
Approximately 200 people gathered to listen to Toks discussing the food security program project and encourage the people to toil the ground and work on their gardens to sustain their everyday living. Due to COVID-19 effects, Toks encouraged people to work on their land to promote agriculture as a priority for their survival. An elder also encouraging the men, women and youths to concentrate on their gardens in order to expect a good harvest.
Photos of our CFK Food security gardens which were managed well and kept to a standard to expect a good harvest in June 2021.
The food security program will be celebrated in June 2021.
Thank you all for your wonderful work with getting these items to the very grateful Kiriwinans.
Our wonderful Postman Andy and Dougie (with a different Hell Fish T-shirt 🙂 ) sending these donations on their way.Go girls, the wonderful Aren and Lila packing the Dignity Kits for the girls at Kiriwinan Secondary School.
August 2020 e-NEWS School Fee Scholarship for Kiriwina
Kiriwina Secondary School Boarders in the girls boarding rooms.
Caring for Kiriwina has been helping the women and children on Kiriwina for many years. Even during the difficult conditions of Covid-19 pandemic, our in-country partners have continued to provide our support to the island. We continue to send birthing and dignity kits, and have recently sent safety posters, masks and sanitiser to the VBAs and the Losuia Health Centre to assist the health workers at this time. Beautiful hand knitted baby vests, and equipment for the Junior School have also made their way to the island recently as well as equipment and parts to repair the water pumps we maintain.
As our in-country training is not viable at this stage, we have developed a new initiative to provide scholarships for high school students on Kiriwina. While schooling is free for all students in PNG, there is a cost for boarding at school on Kiriwina. There is only one high school on the island, and many students live in remote villages or outlying islands and so cannot attend daily from home. Kiriwina Secondary School provides a boarding facility for these kids to live at the school during term, and the cost for boarding must be paid by their families.
Your donation of $125 can provide a year’s boarding for a student in need to attend high school and continue their studies. You will be supplied with a photo and profile of the student who receives the scholarship, and can communicate with them via CFK.
You can be assured that your full donation will be targeted to a particular student, who has been selected on the advice of both the Principal and Deputy Principals, to allow them to remain at school.
We appreciate the wonderful generosity of our supporters. As Australian Government funding has been put on hold during the pandemic, we rely solely on our donors to continue our work on Kiriwina.
Thank you to our In-country manager Toks Bwaina and NauFM news reporter Tasminnie Isimeli for the wonderful Radio interview over the phone on Friday last week.
