I’ve been following a great blog lately. It’s called Mommy Niri. And it’s rad. Niri Jaganath, or Mommy Niri, has a great voice and is really inspirational, particularly through her Mommy Niri Cares site. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how I can use my blog as a way to be a real live change agent and I happened to see this tweeted by Niri earlier today:
So of course, I clicked on the link. And, I gotta say, I felt a little ashamed. I’ve been looking forward to a new iPhone for Mother’s Day. As mine is a mere 3G model, I covet the 4G. And by covet, I mean drool over. Which is total the American way re Mother’s Day. Right?
No?
Then why is it that according to the National Retail Federation, $14.6 billion dollars was spent on Mother’s Day last year?
That makes me feel gross about my iPhone obsession.
Know what makes me feel grosser?
According to Christy Turlington’s charity EveryMotherCounts, Pregnant women are dying all over the world, but for different reasons. In the United States, it is often because of lack of health insurance, in Bangladesh-culture demands women give birth at home, in parts of Africa it is lack of transportation or communication tools like cell phones. Just look at these statistics:
• There is one maternal death every 90 seconds.
• 15% of all pregnancies result in complications during labor and delivery and sometimes are fatal.
• Pregnancy is the biggest killer of girls ages 15-19.
• For every woman who dies in childbirth, 20 more suffer from debilitating complications.
• We have the knowledge to prevent 90% of all maternal deaths.
And the most fucked up part?
The United States is number 50.
49 other countries do a better job of maternal care than ours.
Through EveryMotherCounts.org, there are two ways to make a difference.
• a small donation through EveryMotherCounts and Save the Children
• your old cell phones donated through Hope Phones. (They supply everything and pay the costs of shipping.)
Moms4Moms hopes to use the collective power of socially connected Moms to help Moms in need this Mother’s Day.
How else are we gonna build this village together?
If you are interested in getting involved or posting a link to widen the breadth of this campaign, go to Niri’s site to link up and to get more info.
Thanks for sharing this. I usually kinda ignore mother’s day because it makes me kinda sad, but I would be happy to help make things better for other moms.
In the slightly selfish sea of resentment that sometimes pops up around Mother’s Day (don’t foget to call my mom while getting slightly cranky that my own husband and kids will surely not remember to do anything sufficiently appreciative, etc), it’s nice to be reminded about what motherhood means. Sure, it’s a club whose membership I share with women all over the world. It can also be a dangerous place to get into. As the mom of three C-section babies, I know how lucky I am to have had the great care I got. And the least I can do is try to ensure that a few more women are able to live and enjoy the children they worked so hard to get here.
Happy Mother’s Day to all of you!
You, my dear friend, are more kind than you realize. Offering your blog space to write about this warms my heart. Thank you!