The Alola Foundation’s newest project up and running!
In the middle of June, the Alola Foundation’s newest project was put into operation, with the organising (through Mothers’ Support Groups) of a sewing week.
Using donated sewing machines, six local women were employed for a week and sewed their way through nearly three boxes of thread and hundreds of metres of donated material, to make 475 baby wraps, which, added to the 40 wraps sent to us by Heather Motteram’s sewing group of Fullarton, SA, will give us enough for the first two weeks of this project. We could have kept going but, unfortunately, we ran out of material!
Sewing machines and material donated by Mavis Taylor and Rotary (Victoria); many further wraps to be donated by The MILK Fund (Singapore).
Thank you from Alola
What You Can Do
Alola are seeking to raise US$20 per maternity kit to purchase as much as possible in Timor, but are seeking assistance in obtaining suitable lightweight fabric, and sheeting (new or good quality second-hand), rolls of terry towelling and baby soap. Some 0000-00 baby clothes (new & good quality second-hand) and nappies (cloth) are also being sought. Alola wishes to sustain this project to provide work for some of the enormous number of unemployed women, and cash is always the most important component.
With the baby boom in Timor, Alola is seeking to produce 350 "Smart Mum Packs" per month. For people who love to sew, tropical weight baby wraps at about 70x90cms finished would be enormously appreciated. This could be an ongoing project for groups here too. At US$20 per pack, this is around AU$9,100 per month, with AU$2,000 per month already donated or pledged.
Cash donations will help sustain the project and help not only the mothers and babies, but also the employment situation.
If you can assist, please contact Jill Forsyth by e-mail (click here), for both cash donations, and in kind donations which will be sent by Melbourne Rotary clubs through Bill Dagg from the DIK store.
Or contact Heather Motteram on 08 8338 3122 if you can help the Adelaide Rotary sewing group produce more baby wraps.
AETFA-SA will also forward donations.