VILLAGE BIRTH ATTENDANTS (VBA) ON-GOING TRAINING PROGRAM
Women in PNG are 35 times more likely to die in childbirth than in Australia. CFK has successfully improved the quality of maternity care services that have saved the lives of women and babies. Our ongoing project is to provide more training on Kiriwina in essential and emergency maternal and newborn health skills.
Health & Hygiene Committee
A CFK tidy village initiative. Rubbish is an extreme issue on Kiriwina and we try and do what we can to help try and clean up Kiriwina.
Midwife Training initiative
The population of Kiriwina, according to the 2020 census, is approx. 55,000, including the remote surrounding Islands. There still needs to be a Doctor and one trained Midwife. We are raising funds to support employing trained Kiriwinan midwives to support the CFK VBA program on the ground all year round. Our goal is to set up trained midwives across the vast distances of the Island, close enough to support all the VBAs—a very big commitment by all involved.
Education
We send educational supplies to the Schools on Kiriwina. Caring for Kiriwina’s first primer book translated into the Kiriwinian language by Dr Reverend Ralph Lawton, is currently in design and production.
Drinking Water
We are raising funds to promote the supply of clean drinking water. Kiriwina Island is flat, with no rivers and no naturally-occurring fresh drinking water.
Attention all cruise ship passengers! Urgent Help Needed: Transport Crucial Donations to Kiriwina
We are in dire need of your assistance. Flights to Kiriwina are currently unavailable, and critical donations need to be transported immediately. We are reaching out to request your help in delivering a small backpack containing birthing kits. It's a small but incredibly impactful contribution that can make a significant difference in the lives of many mothers and newborns. The backpack can be shipped to any location in Australia, and once the boat arrives, our team members will collect the backpacks on the island. We will take care of all the necessary arrangements and ensure that your donation reaches the people who need it the most. If you feel compelled to help or want to donate your extra kina to us, please do not hesitate to contact us at INFO@CARINGFORKIRIWINA.ORG.AU. Every contribution, no matter how small, is deeply appreciated and will make a significant difference in the lives of those who receive it. Thank you for your cooperation and generosity.
Rates of pregnancy have exploded on Kiriwina during COVID, donations have been declining and the Kiriwinan people are in urgent need of more birthing kits, delivery equipment and contraception aids.
Our CFK In-Country Manager, Toks Bwaina- A BIG THANKS to DONORS - (Video below)
BABY TOMAKAM’S CONDITION NEEDS SPECIALIST SURGERY One-month-old Baby Tomakam was born with a fast-growing facial growth that requires specialist surgery. The hospital will review and advise next course of action at...
Schooling is NO LONGER free for all students in PNG, and there is also the cost for boarding at school. There is only one high school on the island, and many...
COVID 19 has greatly impact the lives of people. Supply of yams and other staple food crops have reduced which will affect the livelihood of people through shortage of food supply...
Strong Women and Strong Babies! Improving the quality of maternity care services can save the lives of women and babies, and our on-going project is to provide on-going support after the...
Hygiene is a critical issue on Kiriwina and this affects all inhabitants, including the women and babies. To help address this issue we have formed the CFK Health & Hygiene Committee....
Kiriwina High School is experiencing a high absenteeism rate of female students who avoid classes while they are menstruating. CFK is supplying Dignity Kits to the school, which include hygiene products...
Currently for the approx. 55,000 Kiriwinans on the Island there is NO Doctor and the two trained Midwives have recently retired. We are raising funds to allow two Kiriwinan women chosen...
In rural PNG the mortality rate in childbirth is 1:7, with a maternal mortality rate of 3 in every 1,000 live births. The need for aid here is great. From the...
We are raising funds to promote the supply of clean drinking water. Kiriwina Island is flat, with no rivers and no naturally-occurring fresh drinking water. While the underground water table is...
Rebecca expresses her gratitude for the Kuluwa village CFK water pump, which has helped her community to access clean drinking water and safely deliver babies.
CFK VBA Rebecca, Kuluwa Village (Video above)
Video message from Kiriwina Secondary School Principal Mr. Cyril T.
The supply of Kiriwinan Schools with the basic items essential to teaching and learning is ongoing – please help us help them to produce their future teachers, doctors, nurses, and midwives.
Kiriwina Secondary School Principal Mr. Cyril T. (Video above)
ABOUT CARING FOR KIRIWINA VIDEO – PLEASE WATCH
Credit: A massive thank you to the brilliant Shea Caplice (CFK Midwife) & her fabulously talented son Lincoln Caplice Main speaker: Midwife Florence (Forever in our hearts). Kiriwinan song: dedicated to the late Rev. Dr. Ralph Lawton
Midwifery Educator, Birthing Services , Royal Hospital for Women Registered Nurse Registered Midwife with over 3O years experience Post Grad Dip Independent Practice (Syd Uni) Masters of Midwifery (UTS)
Project management, logistics, fundraising and good listener! Bachelor of Architecture, working towards creating sustainable buildings on Kiriwina providing a meeting place, toilets, water and power to each village.
Midwifery Educator, Birthing Services I Royal Hospital for Women Registered nurse/ midwife (27 years spent in the birthing environment) Early childhood health nurse (Tresillian) Masters of Education (University of Wollongong)
Testimonials
About Us
‘Caring for Kiriwina’ is a charity set up by the late Margaret Lawton, wife of Dr. Rev. Ralph Lawton, who was stationed on Kiriwina for 12 years; Ralph and Margaret became fluent speakers of the Kiriwinan language, and ultimately aided the Kiriwinan people to translate the entire Bible into the Kiriwinan language and have also been working on creating a Kiriwinan Dictionary, this work has taken approximately 50 years to complete. By creating ‘Caring for Kiriwina’ the Lawton’s have dedicated their lives to the care and advancement of the Kiriwinan people, and their family has committed themselves to continuing to advance this good work for the people of Kiriwina and nearby islands.
Jodi and Doug Lawton - Directors and Vanessa Palfreeman - Co-Director VBA training program, Caring for Kiriwina
