My name is Suzanne Tobin and I’m a LLL leader (breastfeeding counsellor) here in Leeds. I also work supporting mothers in the community with feeding support, within the NHS, some of whom are refugees. I am currently raising funds to support Nurture Project International who are working tirelessly with families fleeing from war torn countries and who are then having and raising babies in refugee camps.
At the moment home life prevents me going out there to help on the ground so the next best thing we can do is get some money coming in so the volunteers can keep doing their lifesaving work there.
Come along and join us for our Mince Pie & Mulled Wine night at West Leeds Rugby Club, 7pm onwards, on Wednesday 14th December.
£2.50 gets you mulled wine and a mince pie, that £2.50 might keep a baby in nappies for a couple of days. It might provide a newly delivered mum with clean sanitary towels.
If you can’t come along, or prefer to donate online, I’m asking you to donate as much as you’d like to via this page. On the donation form the amounts are converted from Pounds in Dollars, so roughly speaking $6.50 is £5, $13 is £10, $25 is about £20.
I’m sat here writing this with my heating on and eating a mince pie, preparing for Christmas. My three children are safe from the cold, they are well fed and we have a roof over our heads.
I want you to picture for a minute living in a tent, winter fast approaching, rain lashing down, no access to heat, clean water, not enough food and no prospect of this changing any time soon. You’re about to give birth and this is how life is going to be for the foreseeable future.
You’re disorientated from losing your home in the first place and now are in a foreign place where none of the healthcare providers speak your language.
You’re about to go through even more trauma in what should be the happiest time of your life. The hospital policies mean you’re having trouble with breastfeeding and you’ve nowhere in your tent to prepare formula safely, you’ve no access to a supply of it and no money to pay. The worry your baby is going to die from this is overwhelming. You’re tired, sore, cold, scared and hungry.
That’s where NPI come in.
I am passionate about protecting the rights of mothers and babies who are currently facing circumstances that are leaving them at risk of malnutrition, disease and death. This is what the NPI are in the camps doing. They are changing the outcomes for these families.
The money you give will go towards midwife support, feeding support, peer support, nappies, clean clothes, food and vitamins for mothers, babies and toddlers. The lack of press coverage means projects are finding it harder than ever to keep going.
For the price of one less bottle of wine on the table, one less pair of unwanted socks or box of smellies, you could be making a massive difference.