Having a baby is one of the greatest joys there is. Watching that bump grow steadily for 9 months, feeling your baby dance within you, waiting for labour to set in after months of preparation, giving birth in a hospital of your choosing, or perhaps even in your own home, maybe even with beautifully calming background music, some scented oils and candles to set the mood for a calm lovely birth.
And then holding your beautiful, sweet smelling bundle of bliss, nothing could ever compare to those first few moments, hours, weeks, of sometimes challenging, but nonetheless blessed days of motherhood.
Can I challenge you to imagine, just for a moment, having to live out your baby’s birth in the uncertainty of a refugee camp. In the Middle East. Surrounded. Not by the safety of your own home, or medical help which you know is there if you need it. No. Surrounded by war.
Surrounded by the horrors of death. Cold. Hunger. Not even having a home.
Not having essentials you need to keep your baby warm. Maybe even struggling to keep it safe.
These days, which should be amongst the most joyous, are filled with the uncertainty of not knowing what tomorrow will bring.
More death ? War? Fighting? More Trauma?
We can bring a little bit of hope.
Expectant and new mothers are often overlooked and there is a real need of support for these women not just in the physical sense of needing everyday baby items we take for granted, but also in the sense of letting them know that we are standing with them.
They are not forgotten! We are a sisterhood and together we stand strong!
How you can help by sending a Care pack
We are asking people to put together care packs on behalf of Samara's aid appeal http://www.samarasaidappeal.org
These will be sent to the displaced people and refugees in Lebanon.
Simply fill a banana box (readily available for free at supermarkets or green grocers)
with suggested items from this list There are 3 kinds of Care Packs needed, for expectant mothers, new mothers and vulnerable women.
Include a photo of your family or friends who have put the box together, then choose one of our printable messages of encouragement (see above link) in Arabic/Kurdish to include in
your box. It means so much for them to know they have been remembered by people here in the UK.
To quote Samara’s website:
“In a world where there is so much luxury amid so much poverty, those of us who have, need to share with those who don't. There is so much suffering, and the needs are so great, yet every one of us can do something to make a difference. Having fled their homes to escape violence and persecution, families in the Middle East are malnourished and babies have frozen to death this winter in camps because there wasn’t enough humanitarian aid to serve their needs.
As a mother who lives a comfortable life, I can't sit by and watch the suffering of millions without doing something. While the aid agencies and governments are unable to provide enough humanitarian relief for these people, there is a need for us to take action to help.
My approach is for us to give what we can, sharing the good clothes, shoes and other essentials that we have, with those who have nothing. We give our best, not our cast offs, because we want the humanitarian aid we send to be a message of hope and encouragement.
These people have no choice about what they are given, but we have a choice about what we send. They have suffered terrible traumas, lost loved ones, lost their homes and everything they own. They are trying to survive in terrible conditions."
When you have made up your care pack you can drop it off at our Bristol Store (64 Gloucester Road, Bishopston, Bristol, BS7 8BH) by 2 pm 10th June 2015. If you cannot drop off your box to the shop please send it to Jesus Fellowship Church, 161 Marine Parade, Brighton BN2 1EJ. You may find using a courier like My Hermes a cost effective option.
Some Facts:
The current figures are:
• IRAQ: 5.2 million are in need of humanitarian assistance of which nearly 2.7 million have been internally displaced since January 2014. They are hosting more than 230,000 Syrian refugees.
• KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ: 28% of the population are displaced people and refugees.
• LEBANON: 1 in 4 people in Lebanon is a refugee giving Lebanon has the highest ratio of refugees per person in the world. 2.9 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in Lebanon
• JORDAN: Nearly 750,000 people residing in Jordan in need of assistance
Together we can make a difference!
Thank you!
Petra
Photos Courtesy of Samara's Aid Appeal
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