A pregnant mum set to benefit from a Clean Birth Kit. (Photo: Birthing Kit Foundation Australia)
Story by Julie Nance
A small group of Blue Mountains women is helping local women survive and thrive and also contributing to improve maternal and newborn survival in developing countries. Assembling birthing kits for women in remote locations is just one of the many ways the Zonta Club of the Blue Mountains is empowering and supporting women, both abroad and at home. Maree Cairns is a driving force in the Club. The retired educator of 37 years – 30 of those as Assistant Principal – dedicates her life to giving back.
Key Points:
Zonta International is a leading global organisation of individuals working together to build a better world for women and girls. The Zonta Club of the Blue Mountains meets monthly, alternating between venues at Glenbrook and Wentworth Falls.
Zonta works locally to improve educational outcomes by providing local women with TAFE and high school scholarships and mentorship. Members also sew breast care cushions to aid local women’s recovery after breast surgery and they provide care packages including toiletries for a local women’s refuge.
The Zonta Club of the Blue Mountains has also been pivotal in helping Blue Mountains City Council put together their gender equity strategy, along with the Women’s Health and Resource Centre and Belong Blue Mountains. They’re also a representative on the Mayoral Reference Group for family and domestic violence and part of the Coalition Against Violence and Abuse (CAVA), which is a collection of social welfare groups.
Q and A with Maree
How did groups of Aussie women end up helping mums-to-be in developing countries?
This all started about 30 years ago when an Adelaide doctor attended a United Nations conference on women, in Beijing. She heard actor Sally Field talking about a birthing kit she had seen in Nepal. The doctor came home to Adelaide and developed the Birthing Kit – a small zip-lock bag containing six basic, clean items. The doctor asked her local Zonta Club to help assemble the kits and it morphed into the Birthing Kit Foundation Australia. Every Zonta Club continues to help with this work.
I hear the kit has gone green?
Yes. The plastic bag and cloth – designed to be put on the ground where the woman gives birth – are both biodegradable. The kit also includes vegan soap, a pair of surgical gloves, swabs, sterilised strings to tie off the umbilical cord and a sterile blade.
Pregnant women in a remote community hold their Clean Birth Kits, providing them and their unborn babies with a better chance of a positive outcome. (Photo: Birthing Kit Foundation Australia)
Watch BKFA’s compelling videoThe Journey of the Birthing Kit:
It must be satisfying for you and your fellow Club members to play a part in this important initiative.
Research has shown that maternal and infant death are high if you don’t even have the basics. It’s really about trying to create a hygienic little environment wherever the women are. In addition to assembling kits we also fundraise. A kit is only $5 each – the price of a cup of coffee. It has such an incredible, tangible impact.
Zonta members assembling the Clean Birth Kits, wearing gloves and masks to help to keep germs away. (Photo: Zonta Blue Mountains)
Congratulations on receiving the Blue Mountains Senior Citizen of the Year award in 2022. Trish Doyle MP said at the time:
“I hold Maree in the highest regard, as an educator of excellence, a mentor, a supporter of community organisations, a tireless volunteer and an advocate for change in the field of gender equality. She has had a lifetime of service in public schools throughout New South Wales, making a significant contribution to the lives of families in the Hazelbrook community over many years as a classroom teacher and assistant principal.”
That’s very impressive and adds up to a great deal of giving to the community. What motivates you and did your drive to support others start as a child?
I came from a family of domestic violence, as a child. It’s what forms you. My mother had five children and had to work. There were times when we didn’t eat, when we didn’t have shoes. So when you break out of that, you feel you have to give back. Education was what opened all the doors for me.
As a teacher, I spent a lot of time with those kids who didn’t come from ‘typical’ backgrounds, with all the issues that can bring. I knew if I could encourage them and make them really excited about learning, they had a chance. I’m very fortunate where I sit now. I own a house and I’m comfortable and that’s because of education. I feel an obligation to make sure other women have those opportunities. I also call out gender inequity all the time.
Maree Cairns, former president of Zonta Club of the Blue Mountains and now member. (Photo: Julie Nance)
It was interesting to read that Zonta International started with a club in 1919 in Massachusetts, set up by Marian de Forest, with aviator Amelia Earhart a member.
Zonta is a Lakota Sioux Indian word that means ‘honest and trustworthy’. The main focus of Zonta is to empower women and girls through service and advocacy. There’s always an education program and a health program.
Zonta runs a whole range of international scholarships, and the one that stands out for me is the Amelia Earhart Scholarship, which is for a woman doing postgraduate studies in Aeronautical Science. They award 10 a year and it’s $10,000 US dollars. Australia has had young women recipients and we had one last year. It’s career changing for them.
I understand Zonta also works locally to improve educational outcomes by providing local women with TAFE and high school scholarships and mentorship. What outcome have you been particularly proud of?
I think the TAFE awards are the ones that mean the most to me because we give two: one to a young woman who chooses an alternate pathway to her higher school certificate and the other to an older woman who is retraining or training to join the workforce for the first time.
Our recipient last year was a Japanese lady in her 40s. She didn’t have the opportunity to study because her mother had a stroke and at the age of 19 she became her carer. Once her mother passed away she spent her time working 12 hour-days in a Japanese restaurant. She did the TAFE pathways course and then a maths degree at Western Sydney University. She is now a maths teacher.
The support Zonta provides is so diverse, including sewing breast care cushions to aid women’s recovery after breast surgery?
Women often have lymph nodes taken out during breast surgery. The cushion sits under their arm and takes the pressure off the wounds. Every now and then we get an email from someone who says something along the lines of: “I had one of your breast cushions and it really helped, thank you so much.”
Zonta sewers making a difference with their breast care cushions. (Photo: Zonta Blue Mountains)
I hear you also provide care packages including toiletries for a local women’s refuge?
We’re noticing an increasing trend of women having to stay long periods at the refuge because they’ve got nowhere to go. A lot of the toiletries and other essentials we provide are donated to us. Many of us put an extra deodorant or shampoo into our trolley when we shop. We also had a great big timber table made for a refuge courtyard. We received a photo of the table covered in kids’ paintings, playdough, blocks and teacups.
Supplies heading for a local refuge. (Photo: Zonta Blue Mountains)
Is there anything else you feel is important to highlight about Zonta?
Advocacy! Advocacy is making sure that everywhere there’s something happening, Zonta is there saying ‘what about women? What about women? What about women?’.
We were pivotal in helping the Blue Mountains City Council put together their gender equity strategy, along with the Women’s Health and Resource Centre and Belong Blue Mountains. That was really important. We’re also a representative on the Mayoral Reference Group for family and domestic violence and part of the Coalition Against Violence and Abuse (CAVA), which is a collection of social welfare groups.
You must have incredible energy. How do you keep up with everything?
You always find time for the things you love. I encourage people to just get involved and find something that is your passion. Everyone has something to contribute. Older people particularly have got so much life experience and wisdom to share.
Look out for the Zonta stall at Glenbrook Rotary Markets (Photo: Zonta Blue Mountains)
Take Action:
If you are interested in finding out more about the Zonta Club of the Blue Mountains and getting involved, visit their website, their Facebook page or phone Maree on 0419 638 912.
Zonta meets on the first Monday of the month at 6.30pm, alternating between Glenbrook Panthers and the Grand View Hotel in Wentworth Falls.
Help Zonta Club of the Blue Mountains raise funds for more birthing kits.
This story has been produced as part of a Bioregional Collaboration for Planetary Health and is supported by the Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (DRRF). The DRRF is jointly funded by the Australian and New South Wales governments.
Global poisoning by a tsunami of toxins that are flooding the planet is fast becoming the biggest threat to life on earth. Extreme weather events like fire and flood accelerate this chemical pollution. To address this the Planetary Health Centre`s Full Cycle 2025 conference from 20-22 Nov is bringing together leading experts in managing extreme weather events as well as those who are working on reducing the risk of hazardous materials like asbestos and PFAS. According to keynote speaker Julian Cribb:
"The poisoning of our planet through human chemical emissions is arguably the largest human impact of all upon the Earth. In volume, it is four to five times greater than our climate emissions (which are a part of it), and three times more lethal than the estimated climate death-toll. It is the mega-threat least understood by society, monitored by science or regulated by government. It has mainly occurred over the last 50 years, due to a massive global surge in chemical use and materials extraction.
Scientific assessment has identified more than 350,000 man-made chemicals. The US Department of Health estimates 2000 new chemicals go on the market every year and the Smithsonian says 1000 new compounds are now being synthesised every hour. The UN Environment Program warns about a third of these “are persistent, able to accumulate in humans and animals and are toxic”.
The World Health Organisation estimates that 13.7 million people — one in every four — die each year from diseases caused by “air, water and soil pollution, chemical exposures, climate change and ultraviolet radiation”, caused by human activity.
Human chemical emissions are thus responsible for the largest mass killing in history.
Learn more and register for the conference here (link in profile): www.fullcycleconference.com.au
There will be a free community expo on Saturday 22 November at the Planetary Health Centre in Katoomba.
Conference volunteers receive free registration. Email planetaryhealthevents@bmcc.nsw.gov.au if you’d like to volunteer at this critically important event.
T`ai-chi and Qigong routines can increase mobility and strength, improve immunity and help build an inner calm. To get the greatest health impact you need to practice them on a regular basis, so we`re thrilled to now be offering a 6-week block of classes to take you into summer starting 9am this Saturday 1 November and running until Sat 6 December. Bookings essential here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/4qrw4Nx This Saturday, 1 November, the activity is also the first in a full day of Skill Share activities at the Centre that includes Seed Saving and Gardening from 10am, and Planetary Health Bushcare from 1.30pm. You can book in for Bushcare here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/49k8PPo Contact Lis on 0407 437 553 for more information.
Rotarians 4 Planetary Health will be meeting again at the Planetary Health Centre at 6pm on Monday 27 October. Register at this link if you`d like to attend! (link in profile) https://events.humanitix.com/rotarians-4-planetary-health-l7bb4qhr?
Thank you to everyone who popped by for the @ediblegardentrailbluemountains today! It was a great day discussing gardens, ponds, frogs, seeds, composting seats, wicking beds and how to restore the hydrological cycle! Next Saturday will be our Skill Share Saturday. We`ll be kickstarting a 6-week block of Tai Chi & Qigong at 9am, launching our Seed Saving and Gardening Group at 10am and running our monthly Bushcare Group at 1.30pm. You can book in for Tai Chi here (link in profile): https://events.humanitix.com/tai-chi-and-qigong-six-week-block-spring-2025-qaw2ts2v and to Bushcare here (link also in profile): https://events.humanitix.com/planetary-health-bushcare-spring-summer-2025
The Planetary Health Centre is on the Edible Garden Trail today! Last week we launched the Upper Mountains Seed Savers and Gardening Group. Come along to learn more, enjoy a coffee in our garden, and pick up a free Vegetable and Flower Sowing Guide. We`re open from 10am. You can find us at 33-39 Acacia St Katoomba. Tickets for the Edible Garden Trail available here (link in profile): https://events.humanitix.com/blue-mountains-edible-garden-trail-2025
The Planetary Health newsletter is now out. Read about three days of innovation at the upcoming Full Cycle Conference in Nov, the Edible Garden Trail this weekend, and a six week block of Tai Chi and Qigong classes at the Planetary Health Centre (link in profile): https://bit.ly/47jbFBz
Today is an Extreme Bushfire Danger Day! Have you heard about the extraordinary fire resistant paint developed by Professor Yeoh and his team at UNSW? Professor Yeoh will be presenting at our Full Cycle Conference on Thurs 20 November. He is world renowned in the field of fire safety and his innovations are helping to keep people and property safe. Importantly among these innovations has been the development and commercialisation of FSA FIRECOAT paint (sold at Bunnings), which creates a protective insulating ‘char’ on a building when it’s exposed to flames. It is water based and non toxic. Watch it in action in this video (link in profile): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkA1RlxMjWQ
Join us at the Conference to learn more about Professor Yeoh’s work during three days of innovation and exploration in which leading speakers from around Australia will share how we can reduce the risks of natural hazards and hazardous materials. Places are limited so register here now (link in profile): https://www.fullcycleconference.com.au/
With new modelling suggesting a hot summer with increasing fire risk it`s worth making time now to learn more about how we can reduce the risk of disaster by registering to attend the Full Cycle Conference that`s bringing together the Bushfire Building and Asbestos & Hazardous Materials Management Conferences in Katoomba on 20-22nd Nov. Group discounts apply if you register now here (link in profile): www.fullcycleconference.com.au
• Emma Whale from the NSW Reconstruction Authority will discuss how state-wide and place-based disaster adaptation planning is helping reduce risk;
• David Sanderson, the inaugural Judith Neilson Chair in Architecture at UNSW, will share the results of a landmark enquiry on how our response to disasters requires a change in housing policy and local government empowerment;
• Owen Price, Director of The Centre for Environmental Risk Management of Bushfires at UOW will compare the patterns of housing loss in the NSW and Californian wildfires;
• Guan Heng Yeoh from UNSW will share how he developed the award winning FIRECOAT fire resistant paint;
• Everson Kandare from RMIT University will discuss the development of fireproof cladding made from molasses-cultured mycelium - a fungal biomass;
• Alan Green from the Sustainable Buildings Research Centre UOW will introduce Heatwave and Multi-Hazard Resilience Star Rating Tools for retrofitting houses;
• Emma Bacon from Sweltering Cities and Dr Kim Loo from Doctors for the Environment will discuss heat waves and social justice;
• Andrew Bovis from Integrated Water Solutions will discuss the potential use of treated blackwater as an independent water source for landscape hydration and fire fighting;
• Sara Jane Wilkinson from UTS will launch the Bushfire Retrofitting Toolkit for older Australians and do a session on green roofs and walls to reduce disaster risk and increase biodiversity;
• Melissa Knothe Tate will discuss research on tackling PFAS contamination;
Thank you to everyone who participated in our inaugural Blue Mountains Food Security Fair today. It was an inspiring and thought provoking day with lots learnt, many connections made, amazing food consumed and stunning weather! We look forward to doing it again next year!
The inaugural Blue Mountains Food Security Fair kicks off at 9am today at the Planetary Health Centre in Katoomba. Pop in to listen to a talk, watch a demo, grab a coffee and sweet treat from Good Fat Pastry, a delicious lunch from Bibi`s Kitchen, fresh mushrooms from EarthRising Mushroom Farm, locally acclimatised vegetable seeds from Mid Blue Mountains Seed Savers, and edible native plants from Muru Mittigar Ltd You can view the full program here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/4nOSJle The Planetary Health Centre is at 33-39 Acacia St (former Katoomba Golf Course).
The Fair is a World Animal Day event and has been supported by a sEEd grant from the Australian Association of Environmental Educators.
A huge thank you to Richard Burrell from Muru Mittigar Native Nursery who delivered us the following edible natives to sell at our Food Security Fair on Saturday 18th October:
Apple Berry Finger Lime Mat Rush Lomandra longifolia Midgen Berry Native Leek Native Parsnip Native Raspberry Female and male Pepper Berry Vanilla Lily Yam Daisy
You can view the full program for the Food Security Fair here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/4nOSJle
We`re thrilled that EarthRising Mushroom Farm will be at the Blue Mountains Food Security Fair this Sat 18 Oct with their fabulous fresh mushrooms, mushroom grow kits and other mushroom products. Alex can help you get started on mushroom growing and let you know more about the mushroom compost you can pick up from the Farm in Lawson. View the full program for the day here (link in profile): https://bit.ly/4nOSJle The Fair is at the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre: 33-39 Acacia St Katoomba (former Katoomba Golf Course)
Julie Nance is a community storyteller with the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative. In her coverage of the Lower Mountains area, she brings 30 years’ experience in communications, publishing and journalism.
After specialising in health and social issues as a journalist, Julie led creative teams in the government and not-for-profit sectors including the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, YMCA NSW, Cancer Council NSW and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.
Julie is passionate about empowering people with quality information to help them make informed choices.
Julie Nance invited her 82-year-old mum to join her on outings in Lower Mountains parks, after months of being confined to home due to sickness. With fond memories of family picnics growing up, their quality time together in nature gave them both a much-needed lift.
