Living Child

Our vision is that women in the remote communities of the East Sepik Province of PAPUA NEW GUINEA where Living Child works, will be able to choose when and how many children they have, that they will be able to give birth safely and their children will have every opportunity to grow and thrive. We give WOMEN HEALTH VOLUNTEERS in remote villages of the Keram River area, training, visual aids and support to be able to pass on knowledge and skills to every household in every village. The education helps volunteers to teach women in their village about family planning, pregnancy, birth, nutrition and breastfeeding, and hygiene. Women in remote villages face challenges to feed their newborns, introduce solids and provide a well-balanced diet for their growing children. Our BREASTFEEDING & NUTRITION PROGRAMME is about gaining insight into the nutrition of young babies and to develop a simple training package to address the issues. Living Child is partnering with the East Sepik Provincial Health Authority (ESPHA) and Angoram District Administration to help reinstate quality MATERNAL & NEWBORN HEALTH SERVICES. The government is upgrading the Maternity building and Living Child is providing basic medical equipment. Living Child conducts PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING for Health Workers in partnership with ESPHA. Australian volunteer midwives facilitate a two week up-skilling training programme developed by the West Australian Department of Health, Global Health Alliance Program. Living Child is developing a MENS HEALTH TRAINING PACKAGE aimed at remote village men of all ages to help improve understanding of health issues affecting families. Our aim is to foster positive attitude towards women and girls in relation to sexual and reproductive health. The Australian government awarded Living Child a Friendship Grant for 2019 to initiate this programme. ADDITIONAL FUNDING is needed to put together culturally appropriate training for our programmes.