MAMA KITS
Women living in the least developed countries of the world are 300 times more likely to die as a result of
childbirth or pregnancy-related complications than women living in the developed countries, according to
UNICEF.
"Every year, more than half a million women die as a result of pregnancy or childbirth complications,
including about 70,000 girls and young women aged 15 to 19,” says Ann M. Veneman, UNICEF executive
director.
Globally, about 10 million women have died since 1990 due to complications arising from pregnancy and
childbirth (an average of 1,500 each day), while about 4 million newborns die each year within 28 days of
their birth—a rate 14 times higher than those of industrialized countries. (See source, here)
How does a mom in North America stretch her heart and her hands halfway around the world to help a
woman in poverty care for her child? Is there a way?
Lulu Mama Kits are providing hope to women in Uganda who are unable to deliver their babies in
hospitals. Without these necessary supplies, mothers are giving birth in unsanitary conditions or are
forced to share supplies with others, often spreading and contracting the HIV/AIDS virus.
The Huffington Post reports “if women do not arrive at the hospital with a "Maama Kit" -- a safe birth kit
containing gloves, a sterilized razor blade and a clean plastic sheet on which they can deliver -- doctors
can't accommodate them.” The reporter continued “each time I return I'm newly shocked by the avoidable
tragedies unfolding within them -- young girls who appear days after they've entered labor with stillborn
children inside them, women leaking urine and feces due to horrific birth injuries, listless but hopeful
future mothers whose unborn babies suffer from fetal malaria.”
YOU can be a part of offering life and practical help to these women by assembling a Mama Kits with
simple, easy to access items here in North America and sending them directly to our team on the ground
in Uganda. Gather those around you, in your community, your church, or even online and assemble these
Kits together. Let’s begin a movement that changes the outcomes of these women and children right from
the start!
WAYS TO HELP
1. You can donate to The Lulu Tree via Paypal (via thelulutreefoundation@gmail.com) and specify
that your donation go towards purchasing a Mama Kit, prepared on Ugandan soil.
2. You can add a personal touch and prepare the Mama Kits yourself by gathering a party of women
together, compiling the list of resources below, and making a ministry night of it. See the following
instructions for how to best put a kit together. These kits can then be mailed directly to Lulu’s
national coordinator who will distribute them amongst Katwe’s mothers, specifically.
Supply List (to be purchased at your local drugstore)
-2 metre (1.25 yard) piece of plastic sheet for pregnant woman to lie on during labour
-½ metre (½ yard) plastic sheet to provide clean surface for placing the items being used
-2 pairs of surgical gloves to prevent bacterial infection and HIV
-1 bar of soap for washing hands
-1 roll of cotton
-2 new razor blades to cut the umbilical cord (We recommend wrapping the sharp edges with duct tape
for your own safety and for those in Uganda who will open your kit)
-two pieces of cotton thread or tape for tying the cord
- 2 packs of gauze for cleaning the baby’s eyes
-packet of at least 8 sanitary pads for the mother
-1 Suction bulb to clean baby's airway
-a brand-new baby sheet or swaddling blanket for the baby to be wrapped up in (it is not uncommon to
have nothing to wrap the baby in- or to use a dirty shirt from a husband or family member)
Kits can be wrapped and packaged in sealed ziplock bags to keep the items sterile; it is also
recommended that the Mama Kits be put together using plastic gloves when handling the contents.
Says Kyorasiime Pulkeria, a midwife at Kabuyanda Health Center, “'A mama kit package contains a one
meter piece of cotton cloth (baby wrapper), one laundry soap, a pair of gloves, a piece of cotton wool,
small gauze, cord ligature, and a meter of polythene sheet which is used on the delivery table. In many
health facilities countrywide, baby wrappers are not provided to mothers. These essential items are not
easily afforded by pregnant mothers in rural areas. They cost the project about USD 5 per unit. Since the
introduction of mama kit by the MVP, not only have pregnant mothers had access to the most essential
items but it has also led to great reduction in infections in newborn babies. Previously, a mother would
come with any cloth from home, most of the time an unwashed rag, to wrap the newborn. By providing a
clean wrapper and the polythene sheet which is for one use only, the mama kit has made a dramatic
change in delivery procedures. ‘This has helped us prevent infection of the mother and the newborn.”
SHIPPING INFO
*Please note, we gather the kits on this end and then ship them to our Lulu location in Uganda. We
would be grateful if you could include a donation towards the shipping total if possible, when you send
the kits.
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Ship kits via the United States Postal Service to: The Lulu Tree, c/o Joanne Viola, 452 Franklin
St., Reading, MA 01867 USA Tel: 781-864-3154.
Ship via Canada to: The Lulu Tree, c/o Emily Wierenga, 4806-51 Ave., Neerlandia, AB T0G 1R0
CANADA Tel: 780-674-8992.
If you have any questions concerning packing the Lulu Mama Kits, please contact Lulu volunteer Millie
McAtee: milliemcatee@gmail.com.
HOW TO HOST A MAMA KIT PARTY
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Pray about who God would have you include in your gathering. Think about gathering
your community group, neighbors, school parents, friends or colleagues
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Print the invites provided in our PDF download on to cardstock or send them via email.
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Invite guests to join you at your home, your office, a room at your church, anywhere you
can form an assembly line to put each Mama Kit together.
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Consider purchasing the items yourself to assemble or assigning items from the list to
your guests and combining your resources.
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Keep things simple, but feel free to serve snacks, beverages or desserts. Enjoy one
another’s fellowship!
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Pray together for the Mamas who will be receiving these kits. Ask God’s protection over
their deliveries, their care, their newborns. Your petition before the Lord on their behalf is
an offering of grace!
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After the event, collect the kits and pack them to ship at your local post office to the
address provided.