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REPORTS
Social evening
To sum up the
celebrations of Breastfeeding Week 2004, the members of the ABC
gathered at the Corinthia Palace Hotel, Attard, to enjoy a meal
together and each other’s company. Most members attended with their
family members including husbands and children. Two vouchers for a day
at the leisure center were kindly given to the ABC by the Corinthia
Group management to raffle together with some other prizes. The
youngest children took turns in drawing the raffle. Photos were taken
by several members and some can be seen here. Many thanks to Sarah
Cutajar who organized this activity and made the evening a memorable
experience for all of us.
(See photos here)
Delegation for Gozo
Members of the ABC set
out on Friday 6th August and crossed over to Gozo by the
9.00 am ferry. The delegation was welcomed heartily by the staff at
the Maternity Ward, Gozo General Hospital. The Hon. Minister Giovanna
Debono graced us with her presence and gave a speech highlighting her
personal insight to the breastfeeding question and acknowledging the
need for more support in the community at Gozo. The Co-ordinator of
the ABC, Christine Borg, proposed the extension of some of the current
services already offered in Malta to reach the community in Gozo. Part
of the proposal was that a branch initiated by the ABC develops in
Gozo with the ultimate aim of Gozo having its own group of
Breastfeeding Counsellors. Mr. John Mamo, Head of Obstetrics and Dr.
Simon Mifsud, Head Pediatrics, gave a healthy input to the ensuing
discussion bringing their own expertise of how the service can work to
benefit all concerned. The meeting was fruitful and the ABC looks
forward to further development.
Meeting the public in Valletta
A group of ten members
donned their breastfeeding T-shirts on Wednesday 4th August
and set up their table and umbrella at City Gate. Pictures of
breastfeeding mothers from all over the world were put up. Literature
with information about breastfeeding and the ABC were given out to the
public. Golden Bows and ABC contact cards were distributed to the
public. A random attitude survey was carried out where respondents
ticked a 5 minute long questionnaire. Both men and women between the
ages of 22 and 70 took part in the survey. Results will be published
later on. Donations were accepted from the public. Many thanks go to
Anna Cutajar who patiently went round doing the necessary permits and
other bureaucratic work pertaining to the logistics of this activity.
Thanks also goes to H2Only for supplying us with a hundred bottles of
water and enough ice to keep the water cool all morning. The water was
used up by the members of the ABC and the passing public.
ABC
Children Christmas Party
Children between
the ages of 8 months and 10 years had a wonderful time on Thursday the
29th December, 2004 when they made merry at the party
organized by the PRO and her team, of the Association of Breastfeeding
Counsellors.
The Party was held at
Dar ta Kana, Floriana. The children were entertained by Father
Christmas and were given prizes during games and a Christmas present.
Refreshments were
provided free of charge by Neriku of Kordin. Gifts were sponsored by
Sketchers Stationery of Birkirkara, Klabb Kotba Maltin of St Venera,
Brambles Stationery of Birkirkara.
The party was a great
success. The children enjoyed themselves till the end. Some parents
were present and lent a hand in caring for the children, other parents
sat together in the hallway and chatted amongst themselves happy that
their children were enjoying themselves safely. A potted plant
sponsored by Botanica Flower shop of Birkirkara was won by raffle by
one of the parents.
Tickets were sold at
Lm1.75 each and revenue after costs will go towards funds for the ABC.
Some food and drink that was left over was given to another group from
the Cana Movement who were having a meeting at the same premises.
A big THANK YOU goes to
Graziella Zarb and Charmaine Galea and especially to Simone Galea.
(See photos here)
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