This year we have raised enough funds to donate another 800 selendangs to mothers in Indonesia. We have continued our partnership with midwife Robin Lim and her birth clinic in Banda Aceh, “a not for profit organization of committed families, teachers, midwives, doctors, nurses and caring citizens from many countries. We advocate for the reproductive rights of displaced, marginalized, low- income women, of all cultures and their children. In Bali we are achieving a higher standard of maternal and child health through culturally sensitive prenatal, postpartum, birth services and the support of breast feeding. By promoting natural family planning we empower families who may have no access to pharmaceutical methods of birth control. We work hand in hand with the communities we serve in order to establish sustainable health care, educational projects, and HIV/ AIDS prevention programs. In this way we nurture a more peaceful world on a grassroots level,” Yayasan Bumi Sehat. It is there that the staff includes a freshly washed selendang in their Baby Packets. Robin Lim reports, “As most of our families have nothing for their babies. Along with a HUGS selendang, we give them a receiving blanket, baby t-shirt, a few diapers, some underpants for the mother and after-birth pads. All these selendangs and baby items are taken out of the package and washed by our staff (thank heaven we have a washing machine now!) and dried on our clothes lines so they will be fresh and ready to use. One baby packet is taken along to each birth and given to the mother, so she will have the essentials to receive her baby into the world.“
In addition to the mission of promoting the art of babywearing and donating selendangs I have been expanding our focus to the birth world. Through my own doula business, Bamboo Birth Services, I have been able to teach my local doula colleagues, as well as midwives and of course pregnant women how to use the selendang as a birth tool. We use the selendang prentally and during labor to support different birthing positions, for sifting, pelvic tilts and belly lifts, squatting and pushing. Each new mother then gets to keep her birth cloth to use as a baby sling.
Business wise, we were thrilled to attend the International Babywearing Conference last summer in Chicago where we had a vendor booth and I also spoke with Barbara from the Rebozo Way Project in the Traditional Babywearing session. The HUGS selendang has also been converted into a ring sling available through Sleeping Baby Productions, and Mami Tai in Spain, and soft structured carriers with the HUGS Calyx and the HUGS Ten Toes Click. In addition to our local and domestic sales, HUGS is now available for purchase in England, Spain, and the Netherlands. Otherwise, we continue to float with articles, blog entries, and your generous word of mouth support.
Does anyone regularly assist you with your work? Where do you find support to keep your business going? I have committed my time to continue the project as long there is a demand for HUGS selendangs. There will certainly always be a need for them as donations in Indonesia. We are a small operation. Your order will come to me at my home. My sister does all the web design and graphics, my husband makes the trips to the post office during his lunch break and my father’s former coworker in Indonesia, continues to submit our orders and shipments from Indonesia.
Our primary support is YOU. We survive by word of mouth advertising with articles, your blog entries, facebook fans, forums, and reviews. The HUGS selendang is also a fantastic gift for friends and family members. Even if you already have a selendang in your carrier collection you can order one for a gift and have it sent directly to the recipient with a gift card. Thank you for rallying behind us and our small idea that has made a difference in the lives of thousands of mothers and their babies.Hugs from HUGS.
