I’ve been looking at baby pictures lately.
This isn’t wholly unusual, but it definitely ramps up as we hit new milestones (lost teeth!) or fall back on old frustrations (remember when sucking her thumb was cute?) or, really, any time I have feelings about life and love and loss and worry.
Like I said, I’ve been looking at baby pictures lately.
I delivered all three of my babies in a wonderful hospital in a major city with a skilled surgeon to handle all of the complications of the births. With a few tiny exceptions, my kids were healthy. With a few tiny exceptions, I was healthy. Not a day in my life has gone by since where I don’t count a positively gargantuan list of things for which I’m grateful.
Like every other parent, the crisis in Syria breaks my heart.
(Like every other compassionate human being, the crisis in Syria breaks my brain, too.) Did you know that, of the 4.8 million registered Syrian refugees, half are children? Hundreds of babies are being born each week in Idlib, Syria. Over 60,000 babies have been born in exile, in camps, and into extreme poverty with limited shelter and resources. Can you even fathom those conditions? (I’m looking around at my kids and, I’ve gotta tell you, I can’t. I had a diaper bag packed with the “necessities” two weeks out from my due date, and I still felt at sea- even with the post-delivery, ’round-the-clock nurse care.)
I can’t imagine delivering a child in a refugee camp, with sparse medical access and zero idea of the shape of our future.
I want to help.
And honestly? I need to help. I have to feel like I’m doing something because, honest to goodness, scrolling and re-tweeting while streaming shows ain’t cutting the mustard anymore.
I’m joining up with Parcel of Love, a campaign which will bring relief to 1,500 Syrian babies (and their mamas) born in camps. What’s in each box? Infant formula, warm clothing and blankets, healthcare items, and even a packable bassinet for sleeping. (Have you seen the photos of newborns in cardboard boxes, and their devastated parents attempting to shield them from the elements? I have. And I hope to God that this little act on my part prevents even one more such night of sleep on theirs.)
How can YOU help?
Go to the Parcel of Love site and choose how you’d like to donate! You can select anything from bath time essentials to a fully equipped baby box. (And you should also feel good knowing that the Heroic Hearts Organization is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, non-political organization who guarantees 100% of the funds go to the intended recipient- with no administrative overhead fees.)
Photo credit: Heroic Hearts Organization
None of us can move mountains- or rescue a city- on our own. Few of us can empathize fully with the suffering and fear of a war-torn country’s displaced people. But a good majority of us could- were circumstances or political factors slightly different- have easily been the ones raising families in refugee camps through no fault or actions of our own.
This is so easy to do. This is so little to do. But it’s a start. And as a mother who needs all the help she can get on the regular-
-I never want to leave another mama hanging.
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