Women in Canberra Join with Zonta Club to Assemble Birthing Kits

The Canberra Stake Relief Society, the women’s organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, combined with the Zonta Club of Canberra Breakfast (ZCCB) and others to assemble 2500 birthing kits to send to women in developing countries.

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Last year birthing kits assembled around Australia were sent to Sierra Leone, Republic of the Congo, and Papua New Guinea.

Each year the ZCCB purchases the items to create the birthing kits and organises a packing day. Volunteers assemble birthing kits and send them to Kits Australia to be distributed worldwide.

Each Kit contains:

Soap to wash the birth attendant's hands and the mother's perineum.

A plastic sheet to prevent the mother and newborn coming into contact with the ground or an unhygienic surface.

Gloves to cover the birth attendant’s hands and provide protection from infections, such as HIV, for carers and care recipients.

Gauze to wipe clear the newborn baby’s eyes, and to clean the mother’s perineum prior to giving birth.

Cord ties to cleanly tie the umbilical cord.

A sterile blade to cut the umbilical cord and reduce risk of newborn tetanus and sepsis.

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The relationship between the Zonta Club of Canberra Breakfast and the Canberra Stake Relief Society has been ongoing since the early 2000’s, when Latter-day Saint Louise Lambert attended a Birthing Kit Packing Day at a small church hall in Fyshwick.

Seeing that space was at a premium she contacted her local church leader and sought permission to use The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ recreation hall in the Canberra suburb of Lyneham as a venue for future birthing kit packing days.

Canberra Stake Relief Society President, Sue Frost, has been co-ordinating this use of the hall with the ZCCB for the last eight years, helping to set up on Friday night and opening up the building on Saturday morning.

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This year a special presentation was made to Sue Frost by Sue Riding- President of the Zonta Club of Canberra, thanking her for her work and also acknowledging their appreciation to the Church of Jesus Christ for its assistance in providing and preparing the venue for the service days.

Commenting on the initiative, Sue Frost, said, “It has been a privilege to work with the Zonta ladies over the years and to have the opportunity to be involved with such a worthwhile project that helps women and babies in countries that do not have the facilities and help that we do here in our country.”

“There is always such a buzz in the hall when people from the Canberra community, members of Zonta and from the Church gather together and help in this wonderful service project. You cannot help but feel grateful for the abundance that we enjoy in our daily lives and also feel a little better about yourself for being able to help such a great cause.”

Earlier this year, the General Relief Society organisation of the Church of Jesus Christ, launched the Global Initiative for Women and Children.  This initiative seeks the greatest possible impact by putting money into efforts to particularly bless the lives of women and children under five years of age – through the areas of maternal and newborn care, child nutrition efforts, immunizations, and education worldwide.

The Church’s global initiative for women and children is an opportunity for the members of the Relief Society to provide temporal relief for others.

“The birthing kits are delivered to midwives and expectant mothers in many of the countries in need.  With our Canberra Stake participating in Birthing Kit Packing Day with Zonta, it gives our local members an opportunity, here in Australia, to be part of that global initiative,” says Sue Frost.

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