Mother’s of Africa is a medical educational charity, found by Professor Judith Hall in 2004, that trains midwives and medical staff in general in sub-Saharan Africa, to provide care for mothers during pregnancy and childbirth. The World Health Organisation sustains that every day, approximately 830 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, more than half of these deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa.
My teacher Maggie Cullinane decided to take part of it on a voluntary basis in 2012, at first providing a couple of hoodies for the 33 miles sponsored walk, an average distance a woman in Africa would make on foot, to get to medical help when pregnant. After realizing the situation there and remembering her difficult pregnancy that probably wouldn’t have had a happy ending if it took place in Africa, she felt she had to do more. She then decided to resurrect a past fundraising project which had involved students and friends being sponsored to create fabric squares, which then made up into a quilt, and Mothers of Africa Sponsored Quilt Project was born.
And I’m proud to say that the Textiles course of Cardiff Met is since then active part of the project, selling ruffle tickets and organizing small events to raise money. Money that I’m sure where they end up since Maggie has an active and direct contact with the local project in Africa. Just some months ago they finished building a school!
1 Year Textiles 2017 Quilt:
My class was divided in 4 groups, each named by an important city in which the project operates and came up with different ideas to involve people in the charity. The fundraising was fun, my group decided to make eyebrow threading and henna painting and besides doing my part for a good cause I discovered a new way to express myself.
Curiosity – A video of a childbirth in Africa, with their traditional midwife:
Anda Avramescu 