Cape Summer Trail Series Championship

WE DID IT!







Our MILES FOR MOMS team ran a very successful final two races in the Cape Summer Trail Series of 2012.



Race 4 on Wednesday 1 Feb, at Tygerberg, was once again a challenge in that the wind was howling. We met some our steepest ascents and yet again one of our team members was sick on the mountain. Well done to Jan Scholtz who perservered in spite of feeling miserable and finished his race. This goes to prove that these runs are definitely not a joke and a real, definite, absolute challenge.

For our final race on 5 Feb at Oak Valley, Grabouw, we were joined by some friends and our team was a force to reckon with! Thanks to all friends of Bosom Buddies for joining us, in particular Neil Cox who ran along for 3 races, Emily House, who did her speedy thing at both Grabouw events and all the other happy faces on the picture above.

Three of us qualified for the championship medal and in case you were waiting for final results before you sponsor us, here it is:
Anthony Geard ran a total of 64.85 km and placed 17th in his category for the championship.
Ben van Rensburg also ran 64.8 km and placed 26th for the championship (please bear in mind that Ben had to keep me company for 2 runs!).
Myself, Frances, missed race 2, so my total km's are 51.6 km and I have placed 20th in the championship!
Adventure boot camp trainer, Miena van Zyl, did an incredible time of 2 hrs 49 minutes for the 25 km xterra super long run and have an amazing 7th place for this race!

If you still don't know how to sponsor us, follow this link:


http://www.givengain.com/activist/69386/projects/2172/

Or you can go straight to the Bosom Buddies bank account with your EFT. Please put as reference your name, as well as the person you sponsor.

Bosom Buddies
Nedbank
Acc: 1141018144
Branch: 114145

Why are we raising this money? 2012 is the year of empowerment for Bosom Buddies! We have developed a fantastic antenatal course, aimed specifically at women from our local townships. We are starting our first course in Sir Lowry's Pass Village on 21 February with 10 pregnant women from the village. We are facilitating a support group as well as an antenatal course in Macassar and aim to grow further into our townships and Grabouw from middle of 2012. In order to do this, we have employed a wonderful experienced and gifted woman. I am raising funds to cover her salary for the year, as well as transport and printing costs for the manuals.
This is more than a dream, this is a passion and a calling. We NEED to do this. Our volunteers meet so many women with premature babies, stillbirths or infant deaths. A lot of these cases can be prevented by teaching women how to properly take care of themselves and their babies during pregnancy and in the early months.

Please help us fulfill this, let us reach our goal.

Cape Summer Trail Series 3 of 5

Silvermine West

Our third run was a happy occasion. It was good to overcome my fears after getting sick on the mountain at our first run. I had a lovely time and did not do too badly! Well done to Anthony Geard with a fantastic time of 1hr 16 mins for this 11.8km, doing the MILES FOR MOMS team proud!

Please remember why we are doing this - to raise some much-needed funds in order to facilitate the antenatal courses we are starting in Sir Lowrys Pass, Macassar, and more this year. We are aiming to raise R60 000, which will enable us to do this.

You can support us here: http://www.givengain.com/activist/69386/projects/2172/

January News

We have had another incredible holiday season, witnessing Christmas and New Year’s babies being born. Sincere and heartfelt thanks to our incredible volunteers who ensured that only 1 scheduled holiday visit was missed. I’m so proud of Bosom Buddies!

Smiling Faces this Christmas

2012 is starting with excitement in the air for Bosom Buddies. We are starting our antenatal courses in early February in Macassar and Sir Lowry’s Pass. Our manual is ready to be printed, we have been blessed by donations  of cups and an urn to be able to make tea for our classes. In a sentence: we are ready!
Let’s not forget why this is so important: at every single hospital visit, our volunteers meet mothers with premature babies, sick babies or stillborn babies – most of which is preventable. Antenatal care is available at clinics all through the Helderberg, but sadly the clinic sisters do not have time to discuss all do’s and don’ts of pregnancy with every single patient. There is no talk of classes. In the private sectors, most mothers (and fathers too!) are encouraged to attend childbirth education classes. These are offered by most private hospitals, usually over 6/8-week periods. Moreover, most mothers giving birth in the private sector are better educated (please excuse my generalization, but this is largely true), and have better access to the internet and educational books. They read up and talk about pregnancy. They know what to eat, how to exercise, to not smoke, drink, use drugs etc. They know what to expect during labour and birth.  The poor woman in the township does not have this. She sees how it’s done by her sister, aunt, mother and friends and in this is the central issue: there is a culture of existence, rather than searching to LIVE. Sadly. At Bosom Buddies we have dreamed for a long time to tackle this. We have attempted classes before, but these did not work out. There are further challenges. Language, culture, class and this attitude of simply being with no curiosity or longing for learning. It is hard to explain. I suppose our foreign readers will struggle to understand.

This is why I am so excited about our new venture: We are not expecting anyone to come to us to learn – we are going to them. I am going to Macassar, to Sir Lowry’s Pass, into someone’s house, where I will be talking to her and her friends about pregnancy, about birth, about breastfeeding and taking care of her baby. We will have tea, we will laugh and complain and we will learn. The hope is that these women will then be ambassadors in the communities and spread the knowledge.

Please continue praying for Bosom Buddies. Although I love what I do, I love the moms, I love the babies and the nurses and my colleagues, it is challenging and sometimes it’s pretty hard.

Cape Summer Trail Series 2 of 5

This past Sunday our runners ran at Lebanon Forest in Grabouw, and I’m happy to say that the race went without any incident. I was still unwell so had to call in my lovely sister-in-law Sigi van Rensburg to run in my place, which she did super well.

We had a full team: Anthony Geard had a fantastic time for the 13.4km and was the first of our MILES FOR MOMS runners in. He was followed very closely by Ben van Rensburg, and then in was Adventure Bootcamp trainer running for Bosom Buddies Miena van Zyl with a 18th overall ranking in her category, Jan Scholtz and Emily House. Well done team!

An update on funds raised: we have started receiving some funds, and I wholeheartedly thank our sponsors. I am leading in this race, with Miena close on my heals. Come on friends, support our runners!

Cape Summer Trail Series 1 of 5

Last night we ran the first of 5 races in the summer trail series. Those of us involved are all from Thembalitsha and doing this challenge as a personal challenge to ourselves, but also as a fundraiser for Bosom Buddies. Anthony Geard is treasurer on the board of Thembalitsha, Jan Scholtz a board member as well, Ben van Rensburg my husband and I. Apart from the 4 of us who have committed to do at least 4 of the races (Ben and I will do all 5), we have other volunteers who will be running 1 or 2 races with us.

I won’t be overreacting when I say that last night’s race at Silvermine high above Muizenberg counts as my worst ever running experience. I got sick on the mountain, severely dehydrated and what should have taken about 1 hr 30 minutes, took me over 2 and a half hours. On the way home I was so sick, we had to stop 3 times. Aching body, vomiting and headache.

I have some trail running experience and thoroughly enjoyed the winter runs in the Helderberg mountain and Jonkershoek. I know it is not a fitness issue, as I am very fit, celebrating my 3-year anniversary attending Adventure Bootcamp for Women this month. This past holiday, Ben and I ran 20km in a comfortable 2 hours. I am not a natural runner, but I have been training a lot and really enjoy the trails. I am not shy to walk the uphills and extreme downhills, but always at a steady pace followed by a relative fast run on the flat stretches. I think my problem last night has to do with hydration and illness. I have had a bit of a sore tummy since Sunday so I know I haven’t had enough to eat. On Monday I had bootcamp in the morning, a netball match in the evening and I ate a smoothie for breakfast, 2 boiled eggs and salad for lunch and one slice of toast for dinner. Tuesday after bootcamp I had a smoothie and since I had such cramps, no lunch and for dinner a chicken breast and 1 potato and salad. Wednesday started with a banana, a sandwich with cheese at lunch and another banana at 3pm. The race started at 6pm. I am writing this as I am hoping that one of my readers is a more experienced athlete and can advise me on what diet I should follow leading up to the next races. Our next race is this coming Sunday and I admit that I am terrified.

A lot of the time on the mountain last night I was by myself with not another person in sight. I wasn’t scared of getting lost or hurt; I was just in pain and praying for it to end. I started feeling faint very early on and had to sit down for a while. For about 2 hours I had a conversation with God. I asked Him to help me with this race, to please let me find the strength to finish it (and it would be nice to do well!). I clearly heard God say to me that He knows that I am doing this for selfish reasons and attaching Bosom Buddies’ name to it, that I am doing it for personal recognition and because I enjoy the limelight. I have been so humbled by this first race! I do enjoy running and of course I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t, I love Bosom Buddies and all we do. I do get recognized for what is essentially God’s project, His work, and I have been basking in this recognition instead of directing it towards Him, where all the glory lies. I vow not to make that mistake again.

I have had to take most of today off to stay in bed and recover from my trailrun at Silvermine last night. I am embarrassed to have such a terrible time and that I placed second last. Is it worth it? I think it is, I felt close to God in those hours, the views were breathtaking, and I KNOW that we will achieve what we aim for: to raise R60 000 for Bosom Buddies.

December News

It is that time of year again where we consider the year past and plan for 2012. I am immensely proud of Bosom Buddies and what we have done and achieved this year. And I am super excited for all we have planned for next year.

Starting out as project manager for BB a year ago, I had some ideas of how I envisioned the future of Bosom Buddies. I am a passionate teacher and storyteller, and for me it was important to shift the focus from supplying bags at our public hospitals to the empowerment of mothers. I am happy to report that, for the most part, this objective is taking shape just as intended.

This past year we have distributed 5000 bags. This means that 5000 women were blessed and prayed for by one of our 22 volunteers. Isn’t this number just splendid? Not only this, we have grown into the field in which there is a vast need, which is education. We have started our new moms group in Macassar with attendance exceeding all expectations. The success of this group has inspired us to do more and get bigger. The new moms group will be split in January, we will be forming one group for pregnant women and another for moms with babies. We are also thrilled to be starting an antenatal course in Sir Lowrys Pass from which another support group will stem.

The kangaroo room looks absolutely gorgeous with the stunning murals done by our artistic high school volunteers. The installed basin has filled a huge need and the curtains made by our own Dezi is feminine, pretty and lovely.
Our next project is our Babies Born Sleeping project which entails comforting mothers who experience stillbirth with dignity and compassion.  Babies are photographed and those mothers who prefer not to take the pictures home with them, are able to contact us when/if they are later ready and retrieve their pictures.  Mothers are encouraged to hold and name their babies and funeral and coping with grief information is provided.   Unfortunately our local hospital, Helderberg Hospital, is a high risk facility and statistically we experience about 100 to 120 stillbirths per year. We have a dedicated group of volunteers, specifically trained to deal with these cases. We also have a psychologist on-hand, working with debriefing our volunteers. Regrettably, the hospital administration has asked us to discontinue this service, without notice and reason. We are saddened that so many mothers now leave the hospital without appropriate debriefing. It is reassuring, though, that I still receive regular calls to offer my services to these mothers. I believe that a relationship of trust between myself and the staff has developed and with the proper fostering this relationship will have our Babies Born Sleeping project fully functioning again. We are determined to figure out a solution to this drawback in 2012.
In managing this project, I have grown significantly on a personal level.  My Faith has been confirmed and rewarded and matured. I have witnessed miracles and experienced tremendously difficult situations with some of the mothers. Even in these arduous moments, somehow being able to comfort a mother is incredibly, intensely healing and even comforting in return.

I would like to thank everyone with a hand in our project: my inspirational colleagues at the Foundation, my wonderfully supportive church family ENSW, my amazing and committed volunteers, the superb staff at both hospitals we visit, our suppliers and donors and funders, we need you and can’t do this without you. But mostly, a huge THANK YOU to God, who blesses every visit, who ensures we never run out of anything our moms need, who blesses us with strength, patience, kindness, love and who reassures us of His presence in the eyes and fingers and toes of every little baby, in the smile of every mother and in the compassion of every volunteer. He truly is the wind behind our sails, what it’s all about.

October News

One of our proudest achievements of this past year has been the establishment of our breastfeeding support group. This group has been tremendously successful in Macassar. It runs every Friday between 10 and 12 and has grown enormously since its inception in June 2011. To be entirely honest, the first few weeks were quite disheartening since, more often than not, I waited in the library for the 2 hours with not one woman arriving. But word of mouth has proved tremendously successful and within just a few short months, we now weekly have 12 to 15 women and their babies attending. This past Friday was our record with 18 moms there!

Let me tell you about some of our regulars:

Michelle and baby Raquel. Raquel is now 2 months old and Michelle has been attending the group for about 6 weeks. Raquel is the most gorgeous little girl! Michelle has two older daughters, one a teenager and a 9-year old. She is a wonderful mother, so full of love for her daughters and shares her experience and knowledge willingly and kindly with the younger moms. This is, after all, the purpose of a support group: not for the facilitator to do a lecture, but rather for the moms to share and relate their own experiences. As facilitator I merely guide the conversation, I advise and correct, but for the most part it’s a two-way conversation.

Jolene and baby Jerome. Jerome is a 6-month-old boy, already wanting to move around. Jolene is 17 and Jerome is her first child. Jerome’s father is not on the scene anymore. According to Jolene, he is a tik addict and does not support his child. Jolene wants nothing to do with him, because since her pregnancy she has stopped doing drugs and has made a break from her old life. She is supported by her parents. I so admire this young, courageous girl.

Geraldine is 24 years old, married and pregnant with her first child, expected in December. Huge excitement and anticipation accompanies this pregnancy!

Jo-Anne is 43 and has 5 children, the eldest of which has 2 kids of her own! Jo-Anne is humble, kind, shy and friendly. She always has a gentle word for the younger moms. Her baby is now a month old and she will be sterilised at the 6-week check-up. She is so enjoying her last baby!

These are just a few women I spend my Friday mornings with. You can see why I totally love it. If you love women and mothers, this is very much the right environment to thrive in. What a privilege to teach and support these women and how much I learn in return!