Subject: | |
From: | |
Reply To: | |
Date: | Tue, 1 Sep 2009 20:15:27 +0300 |
Content-Type: | text/plain |
Parts/Attachments: |
|
|
Dear fellow lactivists and professionals in supporting breastfeeding.
My request first: Would you please send your kind thumbs ups and words
of support for us, to [log in to unmask] (our e-mail) to help us keep up the
spirit. The Finnish lactivists are experiencing an acute case of
fighting fatigue and would appeciate it!
And here is the story.
I am the chairperson of the Breastfeeding Support Association in
Finland. Ours is a 12 years old organization that has done lots of good
work in Finland, organizing the BF-support hotline and internet
services, educating peer supporters, translating and spreading the
latest research, and influencing the government to arrange better
services to families with babies.
In Finland it is common for civic organizations such as ours to recieve
government funding. As we are not a big nor yet established organization
our funding has been scant so far. We've mostly worked on "mother's milk
and good will". We have had promises on more regular funding though.
Now it is the depression in Finland as elswhere, and changes in
government funding are made. The horror news to us has been that instead
of keeping the promises given to us, the government is planning to stop
funding breastfeeding support all together. They would rather fund the
older family support organizations (that have no knowledge and next to
none of interest in breastfeeding) , and also feel that the public
maternity services give adequate consultation to mothers. Wich is not
true, but "they don't know what they don't know".
Our associotion is now doing lots of work to influence the decision- and
policymakers to turn their heads. We have support from professionals and
some politicians, but without LOTS of political pressure and media
attention this will be difficult.
So, please just tell us we're important and wish as well. Support from
the international community would mean a lot to our activists and
workers (we now have three part time workers, but without funding there
will of course be none).
The address was [log in to unmask]
Yours,
Karla Loppi
Chairwoman
Breastfeeding Support Association in Finland
= Imetyksen tuki ry http://www.imetys.fi/itu/english/index.php
***********************************************
Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome
|
|
|