Ann and others: Thanks for your post on LLL presence and advocacy.
For some of us, this a major point of both frustration and confusion. We
walk a fine line. First, LLL Leaders above all are mothers. Our
responsibility hierarchy, if you will, should always put our own families'
needs first. This is not always true of people in paid employment or even
in other volunteer organizations. Still, Active Leaders have made a
commitment. That commitment is to help mothers and babies through
providing mother-to-mother support in meetings, on the phone, and through
home visits if they so desire. Leaders, especially lone Leaders in bf
hostile communities, may be overwhelmed by these 'basic' responsibilities
of Leadership. It is definitely NOT in our collective bf interest to have
these Leaders burn-out so we need to be careful to not ask the world of
them. Many Leaders, including myself and my co-Leader on this list, have
toddlers and babies at home. Some of us also have paid positions (part or
full-time) that are non-bf positions. Second, (as I see it) because of
LLL's non-profit status, LLLI as an organization walks a fine line when it
comes to political advocacy. Perhaps someone at headquarters would like to
jump in here and state the official position coming from an "official"
there (I am not speaking for LLLI here). 'Just my 2 cents.
: )Chris Hafner-Eaton, PhD, MPH, CHES, IBCLC email: [log in to unmask] : )
: )HSR & Health Educational Consultant voice/fax: 541 753 7340 : )
: )LLLLLLLLLLLLL**CHANGE THE WORLD, NURTURE A CHILD!**LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL : )
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