| "Where it is not possible for the biological mother to breastfeed, the first alternative, if available, should be the use of human breast milk from other sources. Human milk banks should be made available in appropriate situations."
World Health Organization/United Nations Children's Fund |
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October 2007 Newsletter
Dear Friends of the International Breast Milk Project,
On Thursday, October 18th, the International Breast Milk Project was thrilled to send off 50,000 ounces of breast milk to the iThembu Lethu orphanage in Durban, South Africa. We were fortunate to have had the shipment covered by ABC World News, as follow up to a story they featured on IBMP one year ago. It was an honor to be selected as ABC’s ‘Person of the Week. The story can be viewed at: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=3753908&affil=kabc.
Thanks to all of you, as of May 31st, IBMP had over 800 milk donor applicants from across the United States, and 305 of these mothers made donations totaling 55,000 ounces of breast milk. All 55,000 ounces have been sent to South Africa, with 5,000 ounces shipped in May of 2007, and the remaining 50,000 ounces arrived just last night to Durban. IBMP cannot thank our donors enough. Without each and every one of you, we could not have made this historic event possible.
Our partners have truly made our dream a reality: Prolacta collected and processed the milk to ensure quality and safety standards equal to their products in the U.S., and Quick International Courier personally accompanied the shipment of breast milk to South Africa to ensure its safe arrival at the iThembu Lethu orphanage.
This month, Lewa Children’s Home in Kenya will receive the first installment of the over $70,000 we raised for the development of a new healthcare clinic to serve the orphans and surrounding community. The funding will be provided in monthly increments and as construction milestones are achieved. This funding is based on the donations of milk from May 31, 2007 – August 31, 2007. On behalf of the Lewa Home, International Breast Milk Project, and the children who will soon have access to improved healthcare, we thank you. We will provide photo updates on our website for you as we receive them so you can see first hand what a difference your milk is making.
In addition to helping the Lewa Home, we have identified a village in Tanzania in desperate need of basic healthcare. At this time, we plan on donating funds to help provide this village and surrounding villages with a clinic and a health care staff starting in 2008. Details are still being finalized.
We will continue providing updates about IBMP and our endeavors, so please visit our website on a regular basis, www.breastmilkproject.org.
Sincerely,
Jill Youse
Founder
50,000 ounces of donor milk arrives in Durban, South Africa
on Saturday, Oct. 20th, 2007
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