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 video The 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.
Share this article:
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.
More from around the region
Some of the most popular activities we`ve run over the last year have been our plant-based cooking demonstrations. If you`d like to learn more about how to prepare meals that are cheaper, healthier and better for the planet, Teja Brooks Pribac from PlantInspired will be demonstrating how to use pantry essentials to create delicious and healthy plant-based meals tomorrow: Friday 6 December at Junction 142 in Katoomba. Ph. 0434 691 496
#plantbased #planetaryhealth #planetaryhealthdiet #cookingclass #katoomba #bluemountains
If you`ve heard about how inspiring and fun our Skillshare Saturdays are with our free Upcycling Fashion workshop from 9am to 3pm, our Wildlife Exhibition from 9am to 1pm, and our Bushcare to regenerate the Planetary Health Precinct at 1.30pm, there`s still one more opportunity in 2024 to come along and join in, this Saturday 7 December. Well be having some delicious Christmas nibbles to celebrate the end of a very productive year and all are welcome. The Planetary Health Centre is at 33-39 Acacia St Katoomba. Bookings for Upcycling essential (link in profile). To find out more about joining Bushcare ring 0407 437553 #upcyclingfashion #bushcare #planetaryhealth #learntosew #patternmaking #katoomba #bluemountains #natureconnection #wildlifeexhibition #birdphotos #wires
The inspiring Lyrebird Festival kicks off in the Megalong Valley this evening and runs until Sunday 17th November. Enjoy a weekend of music, art, food, wine, talks and nature walks as The Bowerbird Collective brings together art, science, conservation and world class music performances. All events can be booked separately or together with a Festival pass. Pricing includes a `Pay what you can` option.
The Lyrebird can be heard in the Megalong Valley imitating the calls of hundreds of other species, as well as producing their own thrilling sounds. The festival also includes a very special film screening of The Message of the Lyrebird on Sunday afternoon.
Tickets available here: https://bit.ly/3AON8In
(or at link in profile)
#megalongvalley #lyrebirds #lyrebirdfestival #bowerbirdcollective #bluemountains #planetaryhealth
In April 2021 Blue Mountains City Council became the first local government in Australia to adopt a motion to integrate Rights of Nature principles into its operations and practices. Today the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Initiative, the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute and lawyer Kingsley Liu, had the great pleasure of workshopping further ways to implement Rights of Nature with this inspiring group of Law students from the University of New South Wales.
#rightsofnature #UNSW #lawstudents #planetaryhealth #bluemountains
At our World Animal Day event we launched the Community Supporting Community Program with a plant based cheese degustation. Teja Brooks Pribac from PlantInspired is now offering interactive classes in which you can have fun learning new techniques for using vegetables to create delicious meals that are good for your health and the health of the planet. Small groups: 6-8 people. $65.50pp. Bookings essential.
Classes currently on offer:
Plant-based cheese making & demo
Saturday 9 Nov, 1-3pm. Lawson NSW: https://www.facebook.com/events/1274663973560691
[DATE CHANGE!] The Tastemaster: how to turn your average vegetable into a mouthwatering masterpiece
Sunday 17 November, 11am-2pm. Katoomba: https://www.facebook.com/events/517611447925601
End of year special: plant-based cooking essentials 2-class bundle
Saturday 30 November, Sunday 1 December, 11am-2pm. Katoomba NSW: https://www.facebook.com/events/1116156823213312
Cooking with seitan
Saturday 7 December, 11am-2pm. Katoomba NSW. https://www.facebook.com/events/1553960262666738
PlantInspired is also offering interactive plant-based cooking classes and demos for individual clients, private groups and businesses. Choose from a range of preset classes or get in touch to tailor your own.
All profits utilised to help vulnerable members of the community through the Community Supporting Community program. Check the website for more info: www.plantinspired.com.au (link in profile)
#plantinspired #plantbasedcooking #vegan #community #planetaryhealth
Skillshare Saturdays literally offer a `breath of fresh air` at the Planetary Health Centre on the first Saturday of the month! At our free Upcycling Fashion workshop this month you can learn more about all types of zips and how to do basic pockets and pocket flaps. You can bring your own sewing machine or use one of ours. And at Bushcare in the afternoon, you can immerse yourself in the bush at the Planetary Health Precinct as you help restore habitat and protect biodiversity (while meeting some great people and enjoying time in nature). Bookings essential for Upcycling Fashion at Eventbrite here: https://bit.ly/4dZWUoM (link in profile)
If you`d like to join our Bushcare Group contact Karen Hising at khising@bmcc.nsw.gov.au or call the Bushcare Office on 4780 5623
#upcyclingfashion #skillshare #planetaryhealth #bushcare #community #togetherwecan #zerowaste #regeneration #circulareconomy
As 190 countries gather for the @cop16colombia UN Biodiversity Summit, to focus on how we can protect the world’s flora and fauna, we’d like to thank all those local individuals and organisations dedicated to the same goal who came together for World Animal Day at the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre on Saturday 5 October. They offered ways for everyone to learn more and take action. From the Blue Mountains Bird Observers, who led over 40 people on a guided Breakfast with the Birds walk, to many others who offered information stalls, talks, workshops, a Wild Life exhibition, live music, plant-based food and hands-on Bushcare. We also launched the Community Plant Based Cooking Project with the first class to be held on Saturday 9 November at @roseyravelstonbooks in Lawson. Places are limited. Learn more here: https://plantinspired.com.au/
#worldanimalday #biodiversity #plantbased #planetaryhealth #bluemountains #katoomba
Did you know that old lino, window putty, and adhesive can contain asbestos? Yesterday the Asbestos & Hazardous Materials Management Conference kicked off with a pre-conference workshop at the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre. It included hands-on `spot the asbestos` and asbestos sampling sessions. This year`s theme is `Working together for a safe and healthy future`. #asbestos #hazardousmaterials #conference #planetaryhealth #bluemountains #katoomba
Delicious plant based and gluten free pastries courtesy of Clean Cravings at World Animal Day today at the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre. Such a lovely day! #planetaryhealth #worldanimalday
Paul Nagle and other members of the Blue Mountains Bird Observers leading 40 people on a Guided Breakfast with the Birds as part of World Animal Day at the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Precinct. It`s a stunning day. Lots more to come at 33-39 Acacia St Katoomba.
A huge thank you to Josh Logan from Logan Signs, Lithgow, for installing our Circular Water Signage in time for our World Animal Day Celebration today at the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre (33-39 Acacia St Katoomba). We have a full program of events with lots of information on how to prepare for the summer ahead and how to create urban areas that help us share our home respectfully with all species. It will be a fun family day too with storytime, craft and live music for kids! (Link in profile) #worldanimalday #planetaryhealth #familyday #katoomba #bluemountains
And our Wild Life exhibition is now up for World Animal Day tomorrow at the Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre. Photographs by Warren Hinder, Merryl Watkins, Holly Kent and Tracy Burgess. Check out all the other events from stalls, talks, possum box demo, kid`s craft and animal storytime, plant based food and live music to Bushcare. @33-39 Acacia St Katoomba Link in profile. #planetaryhealth #worldanimalday #katoomba
