Hampers filled with love for moms, newborns

“We believe it is the right of the smallest of our citizens to have a dignified start to life regardless of the situation they are born into.” 

This is the belief of charity organisation Giving Gifts of Love to Newborn Babies in Need PE.

And now the organisation that has been dropping off care packages and love to new mothers for five years is asking residents to help them spread some Christmas cheer.

Giving Gifts of Love chair Desire Goodwin responded to a call made by The Herald Christmas Cheer campaign in the hope of receiving assistance in putting together hampers to give mothers a head start towards providing for their babies.

Goodwin’s organisation needs baby clothes, blankets, nappies, food and other items to put in the hampers for  newborn babies and their mothers.

Since its inception in 2014, Goodwin said the organisation had visited maternity wards in hospitals to identify mothers in need from disadvantaged communities such as Kwazakhele, Motherwell, Central, KwaNobuhle and Uitenhage.

“Poverty and unemployment results in new moms not being able to provide for the basic needs of these babies and the health care in our country is under huge pressure, and unfortunately not all these needs can be met,” Goodwin said.

The charity started as a Facebook group to call for donations and has since grown to more than 3,000 members.

Goodwin said they made monthly visits to hospital maternity wards and other non-profit organisations to donate.

“We visit Oosterland Children’s Home and the Erica Place of Safety monthly to spoil little ones with gifts, chips, toys, books, toiletries and clothes.

“We hand out more than 200 hampers to newborn babies every month at maternity units in the areas,” she said.

The hampers include soap, two outfits, condoms, Rooibos tea, nappies, sanitary products, beanies, booties and other toiletries.

Goodwin, a retired social worker, said the organisation depended on fundraiser initiatives and donations but needed financial assistance.

“Our biggest challenge is lack of  funds and we seem to do miracles with the little bit of funding we work so hard for,” she said.

Erica Place of Safety centre manager Carmen Hearns said Giving Gifts of Love to Newborn Babies’ donations came in handy for the children’s home.

“For the past few years Desire and her volunteers have been consistently coming  to assist us  by donating clothes to the kids and spending  some time with  them.

“Even though we are a government-funded organisation, we never have enough funding, so help from such initiatives makes a big difference to the running of our centre,” Hearns said.

Erica Place of Safety  is a centre for abandoned, abused and neglected children.

Goodwin said: “For us it is about providing for those who cannot speak for themselves.

“We want to safeguard the dignity of new mothers and treat them with respect, compassion and kindness.”

The Herald has launched its Christmas Cheer campaign to help charities have a better festive season.

The aim of the campaign is to gather much-needed goods for the less privileged.

Donors will give direct to the organisations and not to The Herald.

To donate to Giving Gifts of Love to Newborn Babies, contact Goodwin on 082-879-8960.

Alternatively, visit the organisation’s Facebook page, Giving Gifts Of Love To Newborn Babies.