| Give the Gift of Life this Mother’s Day! |
|
|
|
|
On Sunday, May 13 we celebrated Mother’s Day – a day to honour mothers, celebrate motherhood, prepare a special treat for the mother figure in your life, and reflect on the influence of the most important women in our lives. IDRF is also working to ensure that mothers around the world, who are in great need, are treated to a different kind of gift – the gift of life. Mother's Day in those parts of the developing countries where a woman dies every 90 seconds from pregnancy-related complications however, is not a cause for celebration – especially when the vast majority of complications leading to maternal deaths are treatable and entirely preventable. IDRF’s maternal health projects in countries such as Bangladesh and Zambia are playing an important role in this fight against maternal mortality. These programs provide support to vulnerable mothers by training Traditional Birthing Attendants to ensure safety during childbirth, and by preparing medical delivery kits that provide medical equipment necessary for safe childbirth. This Mother's Day, IDRF is shining a light on the state of global maternal health conditions and encouraging our friends to celebrate this special day in honour of all the mothers around the world. IDRF currently has a few exciting initiatives working to highlight this important issue, and most importantly, raise funds to help save the lives of some of the 1000 women and girls who die every day in pregnancy and childbirth. The Mother's Day Bike Challenge – where eight young Canadians from different religious backgrounds set out (May 9th) on a five-day 500km bike ride from Toronto, arriving in Ottawa on Mother’s Day, Sunday May 13th – is one such initiative. All proceeds raised from the bike challenge will go towards IDRF’s maternal health projects in Bangladesh and Zambia. In the process, the riders hope to honour, celebrate, and dedicate the ride to their own mothers this Mother’s Day. Please consider supporting one of the riders here: http://thefamcampaign.com/bikechallenge/riders. Alternatively, you can donate directly to IDRF’s maternal health projects by making a secure donation online (Mark ‘FAM’ in the Comments Box): https://payment.csfm.com/donations/idrf/donate.php.
|
