kihew awasis wakamik Community Fund

kihew awasis wakamik (formerly Indigenous Birth of Alberta) is a community of Indigenous birth workers, knowledge keepers, aunties, kokums and midwives who share a common vision of healing our people, specifically by improving access to culturally safe and inclusive maternity care for our families. We do this by centring Indigenous resilience and sovereignty and by awakening and reclaiming our traditions and teachings on reproductive health, kinship and end of life care.

 

Along with this, we exist to address systemic issues by breaking down barriers and addressing the racism our Indigenous families experience within society, particularly in the healthcare system. The goal of closing systemic gaps for our families is to decrease the high rates of child apprehension, domestic violence, MMIWG2STM and health disparities that we face.

 

kihew awasis wakamik (KAW) believes that the healing, health and wellbeing of our people must centre our children. This begins with supporting the sacredness of the reproductive journey and birth, which impacts not only our babies and birthing people, but ripples out to our wider communities. We do this through offering culturally inclusive supports and services in the areas of reproductive health, birth preparation, postpartum care and parenthood, all while centering cultural safety, harm reduction and trauma-informed care.

 

We are a community-based grassroots organization and we rely on the generosity of community members and the wider public to support the care we offer to Indigenous individuals and families. With that, we invite the wider community to support Indigenous birthing people and their families through supporting our work. KAW supports individuals and families on an ongoing basis, so our goal is to raise $20,000 to support the upcoming and ongoing costs of KAW. 

 

Your donation directly supports the health and healing of Indigenous people by resourcing KAW to provide care that centres our knowledge, traditions and life ways.

Every dollar counts and will directly impact the Indigenous individuals and families that we come alongside in their journeys. Your donations will go to items such as:

 

Cab voucher, or bus tickets: $5

Grocery gift card: $10

Auntie support for 1 hour (advocacy, text and phone support, transportation, etc.): $25

Meal support: $30

Postpartum care packages (pads, underwear, Vitamin D drops, nipple cream, etc.): $40

Prenatal class, infant feeding class or parenting circle for a birthing person and their partner/support person: $75

Elder support and cultural support: $100

Waspison (baby moss bag): $200

Costs for a prenatal class series, feeding class or parenting circle series for all participants: $500

Birth support (prenatal and birth): $850

The scope of our work is wide because of the gaps that exist, which we seek to fill alongside the Indigenous families that we support. In addition to the items listed above, your monetary contributions and other material donations that we receive on an ongoing basis help us provide a full range of additional supports, including:

Nursing pads and bras

Diapers

Infant feeding supplies

Small household items (i.e. towels, small appliances, etc.)

Items required for a new home (i.e. furniture, bedding, pots, pans, etc.)

Winter coats and boots

Cribs and bassinets

Cultural supplies

Wiwipsons (baby swings)

Meals

Emergency housing navigation

While some of the above items are intended to address the emergency or short-term needs of families, our goal is to see long-term sustainability and stability for all of the families that we work with by identifying, connecting with and supporting the building of natural supports, resources and community connections. We come alongside families during times of transition — whether it be in the conception, pregnancy, birth, postpartum or end of life stage — in their journey towards greater stability and sustainability.

 

Monetary donations can be made on the GoFundMe Platform here or by e-transfer (EMT) to KAW's email address, which is [email redacted]. If you choose to send a donation, please provide a note indicating that this is a “KAW Community Fund donation.”

 

Ay hay (thank you) in advance for your support!

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Please note that KAW is a grassroots organization. We are a society but not a registered charity, so we are unable to provide official donation receipts for tax purposes.

Melissa Scott, an auntie and birth worker with KAW, is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of KAW, with all funds going to KAW's work.

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For more information on KAW, please see the kihew awasis wakamik Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/indigenousbirthalberta