the 2h project

I first met Piseth’s mum the day she was released from prison. She’d been there for 3 months. A harsh place for criminals, an unimaginable one for a petite Cambodian woman wrongly convicted. In spite of her circumstance it was clear that she was a kind lady with a warm smile.

Having lost everything in the years of the Khmer Rouge, including her husband, this woman had learnt to survive. Like so many others she’d returned to Phnom Penh to try to rebuild her life and the lives of her two small children. While grinding out an existence at the city dump her leadership and her compassion quickly attracted a group of displaced persons.

At 2h we continue to get excited about ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Janine Hardy fits the bill perfectly. This amazing single mother of five lives her life in a way that is totally inspiring. And a little known secret is Janine was pretty much responsible for ‘dragging’ Kate Taylor through her Bachelor of Midwifery at UniSA!

With five children ranging in ages from twelve through to two Janine made a decision to head to Uni and begin her degree in 2002. “Janine was always looking out for others. If they didn’t quite understand she’d be the first to say I’ll stay back and help” says Kate, “She was motivated to teach and train. We hit it off straight away. Probably because I needed so much help!”

International Midwives Day acknowledges the invaluable work of midwives. This year’s theme for International Midwives Day is a simple truth: through the vital role they play in improving maternal and newborn health, Midwives Save Lives.

In celebration of International Midwives Day this year, the staff of the Lyell McEwin Hospital wore purple casual clothes and made a gold coin donation to the 2h Project’s Safe Arrivals. Many thanks to Merdith Hobbs and Erin Reynolds and to the staff of Lyell McEwin for their valuable contribution to maternal health in Cambodia!

Sadly, midwives and midwifery services remain unequally distributed between and within countries; every year 48 million women give birth without the support of someone with recognised midwifery skills, and over 536,000 women die each year with millions more suffering infection and disability resulting from preventable complications. While International Midwives Day recognises the significant impact midwives have on the health of women and newborns, it is also a call for greater investment to ensure life-saving midwifery care is made more accessible, especially in developing countries where 90% of maternal deaths occur.

Midwives are essential to reaching Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5, targeted at reducing maternal, neonatal and infant deaths worldwide. More than ever, the need for midwives is clear; every childbearing woman should have access to a midwife’s care. Midwives save lives.

Sponsor one day's training and help deliver a Safe Arrival. Just $35 will allow one birth attendant to be a part of this year's program. (The length of the Safe Arrivals program is three days).

In October 400 traditional birth attendants will be trained. That's a total of 1200 days training!

For over 10 years local Adelaide girl Kate Taylor has been talking up the virtue of helping others. In particular is Kate's passion for Cambodia's traditional birth attendants and the mothers and babies they assist. Not many would know however that Kate failed her Year 12 Biology examination (and the subject for that matter). Not the ideal springboard for a future in health science. Here are a few other things you might not know about the founder of 2h.