She Walks

 

In collaboration with Better Together Paper Co. we created a range of 5 baby cards for the #shewalks campaign. The walk may now be complete, however we decided to continue producing and selling these cards for the great cause – Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation.
The She Walks campaign was completed between December 2016 and January 2017 where Claire Wind walked an impressive 660km to raise money for the Hamlin College of Midwives in Ethiopia.
With a goal to raise $18,000 to sponsor an Ethiopian woman through a 4 year degree to become a qualified midwife
Claire raised an incredible $30,660. 100% of the sales from the cards were donated through Claire’s online page* during the lead up to her walk, however we now donate this directly to the Hamlin Foundation.
Ethiopia is a country of over 90 million people and there are currently less than 9000 trained midwives. This means that less than 15% of women receive any form of care from a skilled childbirth attendant. Tragically, Ethiopia sees 9000 women die every year in labour and another 9000 survive with obstetric fistula. This occurs as women endure obstructed labour, which can go on for days, during which the baby dies.
The woman is left with internal tears from the excessive pressure of labour, resulting in incontinence,
which often leads to rejection and isolation from her community. 
All of this can be prevented by the care of properly trained midwives. When women have access to a midwifery clinic, new cases of obstetric fistula drop to almost zero. Midwives are trained to identify high-risk situations and are able to refer these to hospital care. This means that obstetric complications can be avoided and many deaths of mums and babies prevented.  Last year, Hamlin trained midwives delivered 13,734 babies, provided antenatal and postnatal care and family planning education in many rural communities.
For more details about the wonderful work of the Hamlin Foundation or to donate please visit: https://hamlin.org.au/

* Original She Walks campaign link: