with a Smile Coffee Morning
Having a baby. Nothing seems more natural, positive and joyful. But the reality can be very different in some less fortunate regions of the world. Up to half a million women and three million newborn babies die each year in pregnancy and childbirth or soon afterwards, the majority of them in Africa and South Asia. By the time that you finish reading this, another woman will have died unnecessarily. Eighty percent of these deaths are preventable with simple affordable interventions that could be provided with local resources given the right training.
These are terrifying facts that turn the joy of childbirth into a life-and-death gamble. And all of this is unfair, needless and preventable.
Surely someone should be doing something. Thankfully we are.
The "Smile Appeal", (Saving Mothers' and Infants' lives through Education), is run by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' International Office (RCOGIO). The Charity brings together expertise from a global network of expert colleagues. Doctors, nurses and midwives volunteer to go and deliver education and training in obstetric and newborn healthcare skills in the developing countries with the worst mortality records. But to achieve our goals we need funding for other costs such as equipment, medical supplies, travel and accommodation.
We don’t send money – we send doctors.
How a Smile Coffee Morning with your Friends can help change the lives of millions:
We are launching our "Smile Coffee Morning Campaign” on May the 5th, International Day of the Midwife. We are appealing to mothers and mothers to be, to raise funds and to support RCOGIO’s life saving international work by holding a Smile Coffee Morning. All you need to do is to invite a few friends round, dedicate your coffee morning to the “Smile Appeal” and ask everybody to make a donation. Lets us know in advance and we will provide you with necessary material for your friends to take away from the event.
What better way to spend your morning – meeting friends and saving lives at the same time!
Making a donation:
Once you have held your Smile Coffee Morning (or mornings!) you can donate directly to the “Smile Appeal” online using the Just Giving website or you can download and complete the form on our website: http://www.rcog.org.uk/smile-appeal/smi ... ee-morning. Alternatively you can send us a cheque.
If you would like further information on any of our projects or would like to discuss our work in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact the International Office by email: shime@rcog.org.uk or by
Telephone +44(0) 207 772 6467 or visit our website at http://www.rcog.org.uk/what-wedo/
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