Northern Rivers Pregnancy & Birth Flood Support

Late in February and through to early March, our beloved region, the Northern Rivers of NSW on Budjalung Country and surrounding country along with the many communities living in the area have taken a huge hit. Unprecedented flooding and winds have caused immense damage to homes, transportation means, local supplies and supply routes. As of March 2nd, assessment and recovery efforts are underway for the whole region. Local nonprofit organisations Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond (PBB Media) and The Returning have started to receive requests for support from local birthing families. With many of our community still uncontactable and recovery forecast taking weeks and months for some areas, we know these numbers will only grow.

 

We are collecting funds to support pregnant and birthing families, both for immediate and ongoing needs. Things such as relief accommodation, support with supplies for mother and baby, practitioner services etc. We are also supporting coordination and collection efforts on the ground for supplies

(pregnancy and early parenting/baby supplies) and other support. The funds will be allocated on a needs basis and assessed by our organisation's experienced teams as requests come through. We have been volunteering for over a decade in the local community and intimately understand community needs in the region.

The Returning Indigenous Corporation  will be directly working with Indigenous communities around the Northern Rivers to ensure funds reach Indigenous mothers and families in need.

 

Any amount is helpful and your support is greatly appreciated.

What the funds will be used for
This money will directly support families who are pregnant, birthing, postpartum, Indigenous women, single mothers, and young families in need of support from the Northern Rivers Floods. Many pregnant women and people, postpartum and young families, mob and single mothers are affected by the devastating floods, and will be impacted for a long time after the flood waters recede and the clean up is done. There are women in our community expecting to birth soon and are flooded in and out of their homes, and their birth place has been disrupted. Postpartum mothers who need to receive nourishing postpartum appropriate foods and care. There are families with newborns and young children who have lost everything. We are in contact with our communities and will be directing these funds to people and services guided by what our community needs.

More details will be available soon as well as regular updates!

About the organisers

The Returning Indigenous Corporation  was created in order to bring people back into right relationship with the planet. We offer a host of programs for Indigenous youth, all women and camps for men, women, jarjums and elders. The Returning is operated and managed as an Indigenous project, run by Indigenous woman, on Indigenous land. thereturning.com.au

 

PBB Media Incorporated (Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond) is a nonprofit community journalism & media organisation based on Bundjulang Country, operating since 2010. pbbmedia.org