35 young women from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently participated in a service project in Honiara on behalf of expectant mothers and their babies.
The initiative has the potential to bless lives of women and their soon-to-be-born babies who arrive from the outer islands at the maternity section of Honiara Referral Hospital under emergency conditions.
After a Latter-day Saint from an outer island was flown to Honiara hospital with a life threatening maternity emergency—arriving with no personal items for herself or her baby—the young women and their leaders were surprised to learn this is a regular occurrence.
Determined to do something to help those in need, the group of young women and their leaders decided to assemble maternity kits containing basic items for a new baby’s arrival, to be distributed at the hospital when needed.
The young women approached Latter-day Saint self-reliance missionaries, David and Theresa Nish, who were able to guide them through the process of seeing a project of this magnitude through the planning stage to its completion.
Once approval and funding was received for the project, “We drew up a list of what was most needed by these mothers-to-be,” Elder David Nish said.
Youth leader for the Latter-day Saint teenagers, Joyce Kuse, said “the girls really learnt a lot by doing this project.”
One young participant, Dorothy F., said, “It felt good that the little bit of time I spent doing service would make such a difference to a new mummy and her baby.”
Items in the maternity kits included: mosquito net with blanket; baby pillow; baby wrapping blanket; three pairs of baby socks; cotton diapers; nappy pin; washing powder; baby bottle; three sets of baby clothes; wet wipes; baby oil; baby soap; baby powder; face cloth; and personal hygiene items for the mothers.
Humanitarian projects such as this one are made possible by volunteer efforts of Latter-day Saints such as David and Theresa Nish, and Dorothy; as well as donations from members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and others, from around the world.
Watch videos about Latter-day Saints and their support of humanitarian efforts worldwide: