BlogHer - Maternal Health - The Perfect Mother's Day Gift - Comments

Wonderful idea

Amy Gates — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:50:56 -0500

This is such a great idea for a Mother's Day gift. I usually send my mom a card, sometimes flowers, but making a donation in her name to Global Giving this year (and perhaps I will make it into a tradition for future years and always donate to a different cause) is such a wonderful idea. Thank you for the suggestion, Denise. I just might have to blog this later this week. :)

Amy
Crunchy Domestic Goddess
BlogHers Act contributing editor

My mom is in Israel

Vered — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:24:45 -0500

Where they turned Mother's Day into Family's Day, thus missing out not just on the opportunity to acknowledge mothers, but also on the opportunity to get people to spend on meaningless gifts for both Mother's AND Father's day.

So, I won't be getting my mom a GlobalGiving gift card, but with my own family, I will heavily hint at the fact that this would make me so much happier than the usual "it is the thought that counts" gift.

Thank you.

Vered DeLeeuw
www.momgrind.com

Giving and then blogging for social change

bmichael — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:45:47 -0500

Lisa - thanks for mentioning this thread. GlobalGiving is an awesome organization and is one of the few ways to give directly to local NGOs supporting women in developing countries.

This may seem off-topic, but I've been so inspired by the growing interest in social change made possible by organizations like GlobalGiving that the social enterprise I started last year, Change.org, is starting to create a blogging community focused exclusively around social issues - ranging from global health to hunger to women's rights. We're hiring bloggers right now to write about the social issues they're passionate about and to help guide others in how they can take action, so if you want to do more after your gift, I welcome anyone to get in touch with us. You can find out more about the blogger positions at www.change.org/bloggers.

Now I'm off to get a gift card for my mom, who I'm embarrased to say I don't yet have a gift for...

Missed experiences

Denise — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:09:46 -0500

My mom missed all three births - two of my children were born in the Philippines and she didn't even get to see them in person until far too long after they were born. That still makes me pretty sad. Ah well. Life is like that.

I really do think this is a great Mother's Day gift and several people seem to agree because I've gotten a few thanks for the idea emails since this post went up.

:-)

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager

Flamingo House Happenings

Yes, this is the perfect Mother's Day gift!

Lisa Stone — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:21:16 -0500

Denise, I was just talking with my own mother this weekend about my son's birth, an experience she missed by just a couple of days due to her airplane ticket and the fact that he was two weeks early. She talked about regret. I talked about what a great job my sister did managing the entire process and, ultimately, what incredible safe good hands my baby and I were in, in an urban university hospital surrounded by trained experts whose entire job it was to wait on us hand and foot and keep everyone alive.

That's privilege.

So in honor of my own mother, I look forward to making another donation to BlogHers Act. I look at the women in these links and I know that's what she would want. Since I can't turn the clock back 12 years to that day in time. :)

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder
Surfette

Maternal Health - The Perfect Mother's Day Gift

Denise — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:39:51 -0500

Yesterday was my brother's birthday. I did not send him a gift or a card. I didn't have time to call him. I didn't even have time to surf around for an e-card. I sent him this text message.

Happy Birthday etc...
Are you celebrating w/ Geritol cocktail?

I'm sure he appreciated the text message, very much.

At the moment of texting, a moment of Mother's Day dread set in. I do not have a gift for my mother. It is incredibly unlikely that the perfect Mother's Day gift is going to land in my lap between now and the time I'd need to ship it. I really hate doing the flowers and chocolate thing and I somehow think a text message isn't going to cut it either.

I shrugged off the dread and got back to work. I'd think about this later, I had a BlogHers Act post to work on.

Her Bad Mother sent me a link to the story about an "untouchable woman" who died one day after giving birth outside of a hospital where she was refused treatment.

In Jamaica, family health doctors call for more funding to ease maternal health risks.

Mobile Health Clinics in Tanzania were announced in an effort to "stop needless maternal, newborn and child deaths during and after birth."

From Mothers Acting Up

Two-and-a-half-day's worth of military spending could save the lives of 6 million mothers, newborn and children!!

From The Daily Observer in Gambia

The Reproductive and Child Health Programme Unit of the Department of State for Health and Social Welfare on Monday, began a community sensitisation on male involvement in safe motherhood in Boraba and Cha-Kunda in the Upper Fulladu District, Central River Region.

There are so many of these stories and so many people who need help, where do you start?

I can offer you a way to start. You can make a donation to one of these BlogHers Act Global Giving projects.

* Mother and Child Clinic in Nepal: $10 - 2 days' operating costs for the Clinic OR a year's worth of care for 5 women and children

* Help Afghan Women Deliver Healthy Babies Safely: $25 - 20 women will have improved quality of life through reproductive healthcare and education

* Ensure Healthcare for 40,000+ Displaced Darfurians: $25 - Trains 2 Traditional Birthing Attendants (includes 3 training sessions and training materials)

* Empower Women to End HIV/AIDS Stigma, South Africa: $50 - 2 women living with HIV/AIDS can receive counseling

* Noon Meal Improves Girls' Learning in Burkina Faso: $15 - Provides a noon meal for 50 students for one day.

Now back to my Mother's Day dread.

My mom is awesome, she's always been awesome. I'm a feminist, because my mom raised me to be one. I care about women in Africa who have HIV/AIDS because my mother raised me to care. I wouldn't be here, at BlogHer, if my mother hadn't raised me to care about community. This photo, it's my mom with her oldest granddaughter (my daughter) and her youngest grandson (my nephew) and she deserves a really excellent Mother's Day gift.

Thanks to Elisa's email yesterday, reminding me of GlobalGiving's "gift card" option, she's going to have a gift that's worthy of her.

I'm going to donate money that will train a woman to be a healthcare worker in Afghanistan as a gift to my mom. I cannot think of a better gift to her this Mother's Day - a Mother's Day when my sister is in her seventh month of pregnancy and maternal health is something we're all really focused on right now.

To make your donation a gift to your mom or to make a donation on behalf of someone else, simply check the box next to the words "Make this donation in honor of someone or send as a gift?"

Will you join me and give the gift of maternal health to your mom for Mother's Day?

(Mom, if you're lurking - act surprised when you get your gift, ok?)

~~Denise
Flamingo House Happenings