In the news: Zonta Club donates 500 birthing kits
Members of the Zonta Club of Kenmore and the Zonta Club of Grand Island gathered at the Church of the Advent on Feb. 21 to assemble 500 birthing kits destined for women in remote areas of Africa where access to medical care is increasingly limited.
As maternal mortality rates in Africa continue to account for nearly 70% of global maternal deaths, approximately 182,000 women each year, local volunteers are stepping in to provide lifesaving support.
With rural clinics closing due to dwindling international funding, many women are forced to give birth without trained medical assistance or sterile supplies, indicated Jeanne Phillips, president of Zonta Club of Kenmore. The birthing kits, funded entirely by the Zonta clubs, are designed to make basic, sanitary materials available to these women.
Each kit contains a 3-by-3-foot plastic sheet to create a clean delivery surface, a disposable razor blade to cut the umbilical cord, disposable gloves to prevent bacterial exposure, three cotton cord ties, a small bar of soap and gauze pads.
“We buy all the supplies. We put the kits together. The hardest part is finding someone to deliver them,” said Phillips. “This year, a group of nuns traveling to Belgium will transport the kits to their motherhouse, where they will then be sent on to Africa for distribution by churches and traveling nurses serving women unable to reach medical clinics.”
The birthing kit initiative is part of the broader Zonta International Birthing Kit Project, adopted in 2003. Area clubs organize, assemble and cover all supply and shipping costs. The kits are then distributed in regions where medical care is scarce or inaccessible.
“We have been doing this for over 10 years. It started as a Zonta project and was passed on to other clubs as a service opportunity,” Phillips said. “Now we feel it is more important than it ever was. Many clinics were shut down because they are not funded anymore. They don’t have access to clinics. It’s a little help that we can do.”
The project is funded through the clubs’ annual fundraisers, with the Zonta Club of Grand Island joining this year’s effort to help cover costs, including shipping.
Beyond the birthing kits, the Kenmore club supports a wide range of local initiatives, including the “16 Days of Activism” advocacy campaign, a pancake breakfast fundraiser, a holiday drive supporting Family Justice Center efforts, and the HOPE program for survivors of domestic violence. Members also volunteer with food pantries, the Blessings in a Backpack program, Meals on Wheels, and collect items for women veterans.
The club awards scholarships to senior girls in the area as well as women across Western New York returning to school to advance their education.
Founded in 1927 after beginning meetings in 1926, the Zonta Club of Kenmore will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2027. The broader Zonta movement began in Buffalo a couple of years prior to the Kenmore club, before expanding into the international organization it is today, noted Phillips.
For more information about membership or club initiatives, visit zontaclubofkenmore.org.