A Cozy Blanket: Giving Tuesday!

As I've mentioned before, having a new baby makes me feel connected to other mothers around the world.

It is impossible for me to ignore that while Andrew has so much, there are so many babies who have so little.  Recently, as I gathered up his outgrown onesies and cozy, extra baby blankets, I looked into mailing them to some of the Armenian women I met on my trip with World Vision.

In the process, I was reminded of something I've learned when it comes to charitable giving: it is often best to let local organizations choose what best suits the needs of local people, because they can help in strategic, cost effective ways. For instance, I discovered it would cost me over $45 to mail a small receiving blanket and onesie to Armenia, far more than the items were worth. Yet if I made a monetary donation, local World Vision workers could ensure that just the right help finds those who need it.

In my research about baby blankets, I read several touching stories about how something a simple as a blanket can make a difference to a mother and child, like Seida and Joyce in Zambia.

Because of the cold, Seida worried about the well-being of her children, especially for her seven-month-old Joyce. “My worry was how my children will survive the cold, especially for Joyce who doesn’t have anything better to keep her warm.” 

“I am grateful to World Vision for giving me such a precious gift which I never expected. Who else could have given it to me here?” she asked further. “I have four children but none of them has ever had a privilege to feel the warmth of a blanket like this one.” 

“As you can see I am not the only one who is happy; my daughter is happy, too. We never expected this,” Seida said joyfully.

She adds, “Although at the clinic we are advised to have such blankets at the time of delivery and after to keep the babies warm, I have never afforded any.”  

“Now that I have this blanket, I’ll use it well so that the next child can also use it and benefit. As a mother, wrapping my child in such a blanket brings me honor and pride,” Seida says further.

Seida’s fear about exposing her daughter to the cold had been that the baby could get sick and die. “At the clinic we are advised to keep our babies warm always because they can suffer from pneumonia, a very dangerous disease which does not cure easily. So the blanket will help my child a lot.”

Seida is a small-scale farmer who cannot afford to buy such a blanket because they are expensive and cannot be accessed anywhere in rural areas.

Wow. That humbles me, big-time, and makes me want to give that kind of joy and warmth to other mothers in need this Christmas.

TODAY is Giving Tuesday! 

I absolutely LOVE Giving Tuesday! Any gift given to World Vision today will be generously matched with a product donation from Thirty-One Gifts up to $2,000,000, so any donation you make will have twice the impact for helping families in need around the world.

The Thirty-One Gifts donation of product includes items like apparel, thermals, and totes. Last year, the Thirty-One Gifts blankets that were included in their Giving Tuesday match were used in World Vision programs around the world to keep infants warm and healthy. 

You can choose ANY item to donate through World Vision today, such as the variety of items offered in the World Vision Gift Catalog, but if you want to make a direct donation to support new mothers and their infants, I recommend the New Mother and Baby Kit!  

And no need to worry about all of Andrew's extra clothes and blankets. I gave them to a friend who is going to hand deliver them to her new great grandson in Hondurus! 

Micah 6:8

A Mother-Woman

“I have my children with me and there are healthy,” she beamed.

And in that moment, in the run-down 2 room house on the side of a snow covered mountain, I envied her. I wanted what Aida had, all of her children healthy and with her.
 

We had asked, after spending some time in the tiny home, with its saggy plywood floor, sooty walls, and three narrow beds for 9 people, what she found joyful or beautiful about her life. It was natural to want to end on a high note for this mother, only 28 years old, who had generously opened her home and life to us. She had answered our questions about the ways her family barely subsists in this tiny Armenian village, where winter can last up to 9 months a year, and jobs are scarce.

With nowhere to go outside in the deep snow, and only one pair of boots for all 7 children, Aida’s family life takes place in these two rooms, each only a little larger than my bathroom at home.

The burden of rent is often too much, and the landlord threatens to kick them out, adding a larger dose of worry to Aida’s plate. The small wood stove used for cooking, washing, and heating water for bathing, is fueled by cow dung, but Aida’s family does not own a cow. Her husband muck stalls for someone else in order to earn a very low wage plus get cow dung for the family.

 Even though World Vision is just beginning to establish a presence in their region, Aida’s family and the others in her village will eventually benefit from all that sponsorship offers: parental training, agricultural training, nutrition programs, child protection, Sunday school, and economic development opportunities for the parents. The good news is that while those programs will take a while to establish, Aida’s family has already been identified as extremely vulnerable and will be given help in the meantime.

In fact, we were able to deliver the news that because of a donation made through a World Vision Gift Catalog, their electricity bill had been paid and the electricity will be turned back on after a week of being off. They will also receive an emergency food kit.

Aida IS grateful to have all of her children healthy and with her. It is what every mother wants. But behind her warm smile as she holds her adorable second youngest, is likely another desire: to make a better future for her children. I'm guessing some days that seems impossible.

No, I am not jealous of Aida. That unwanted flicker passed in an instant as it does on many of my days, but now Aida holds a place in my heart as one mother-woman to another. And I've got to tell you, that after just a few minutes in those little rooms, it became harder and harder to see the lack, even though it most certainly was there. Somehow, the warm intensity of mother-love made the rest start to recede from view. 

 

Child sponsorship is the backbone of World Vision’s programs. I get to meet my new sponsor child, Anahit, tomorrow!  You can find out more about child sponsorship here.