Last week the 5000th baby was born in Zaatari at the UN-operated Women and Girls Comprehensive Center. Many of the refugees thought they would only stay in the camp temporarily, then be able to go home, or move on to somewhere else. As the war in Syria has dragged on to it’s sixth year, many realized long ago they weren’t going anywhere soon and decided to get on with life, as in getting married and starting families. The mother and father of that 5000th baby are from the same village in Syria but got married in the camp. They decided to start their family, and now have two children. Many refugees have decided to get on with their lives and about 16 babies are born every day in the clinic.
We are going to be sending 200 New Baby Welcome Kits to Jordan for the delivery unit at Zaatari again this year, doubling what we did last year. Our kits will contain clothing, cloth diapers, teething rings and pacifiers, warm clothing and blankets and more, as well as a Baby Box that is also a bassinet. These boxes will contain just about everything a new mother needs for her newborn for the first year of their life. The supplies as well as the box will help get the little one off to a good start as well as provide a safe sleeping space for the baby.
The box idea is based on the Finnish Baby Box that was developed by Finland in 1938 to help reduce the very high infant mortality rate in that country. Boxes were given to low income mothers at first, but then eventually to all new mothers. We hope to provide new mothers in Zaatari with a similar helping hand.
For more about the Baby Box, visit the Baby Box Company, whom we are partnering with to get the boxes to the refugees. We also have a group of amazing knitters and sewers that are making numerous items to go in the kits – blankets, hats, mittens, socks, sweaters, and more. To fill out the rest of the kits, we have posted items on our Amazon Wish List. If you would like to contribute to the fund to get the boxes and any supplies we aren’t able to collect, you can go to our fundraising page and donate: New Baby Welcome Kits for Refugees in Jordan.
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