I have a little friend who has Cystic Fibrosis. You wouldn't know it to look at him, but, every day he is at extreme risk of infection.  Why's this bad? Having Cystic Fibrosis, which is inherited genetically, means that this gorgeous little boy is at extremely high risk of potentially life threatening respiratory and digestive problems. The excessive mucus of CF can trap bacteria in the lungs and obstruct the digestive function of the pancreas. He has daily physiotherapy and medications, and at such a young age (<18 months old) has been admitted to hospital twice and had two general anaesthetics and spent two weeks in hospital on an IV drip.

One in 2500 babies is born with CF and about one in 25 people carries the gene. While the gene responsible for causing Cystic Fibrosis has been identified no cure has been found and researchers are working hard towards finding a way to fix the faulty gene or replace it.

So, what can you do?  Firstly, donate or fundraise to support the work of those who are trying to cure this.  


Or be creative:

My little friend's mother and her friends are doing something a little fun.  They're having an afternoon of Fashion and Fundraising.  They've invited friends and family to join them for a few hours one weekend and everyone's encouraged to bring something fashiony (think clothes, bags, accessories) in good condition to give away.  Then, while the guests enjoy a little bit of nibbly hospitality the organisers will sort the donation items ready for guest to purchase back. It's a great way to clear out excess clothes and help a very worthy cause.

My grandparents’ house was surrounded by trees, vines, sheds, veggie gardens, fruit trees, a chook pen, and a yard where my grandfather kept his beloved angora goats. During one of our pilgrimages from interstate back to their place when I was a child, I remember playing in the garden around their old, uninhabited, powder blue cottage next door which smelled of honey and was covered in ivy. Most likely with a belly full of my grandmother’s traditional honey-biscuits I'd probably been out there for a couple of hours. I would have been caught up in my own imaginary world, probably pretending to be my latest favourite cartoon or book character, when I was snapped out of it and back into reality.

As I was playing by the back door of the cottage out the corner of my eye something caught my attention. There was a small baby blackbird sitting on the cement path just beside the ivy and chirping.  I couldn’t see a nest or a mother so I ran over and collected it up knowing that if I left it there it would likely be attended to by any number of other wildlife around the place. “Nanna! Nanna!”  I took the bird to her and she walked with me back to the cottage to try and find its nest amongst the ivy. Another blackbird scratching all the dirt out of the gardens and onto the recently swept paths was probably the last thing my Nanna wanted, but she ignored that and helped her granddaughter, whose purpose it was to protect this helpless creature.  Nanna found the nest and with her help I carefully placed the baby bird back into it where its mother would find it when she got home.

There seems to be so much happening around me. So many things demanding my attention, engaging me, distracting me, inspiring me, confusing me, enraging me, comforting me. So many blackbirds. With many friends and family on social media I hear all sorts of stories with varying degrees of inspiration and heartbreak. But even the heartbreaking ones can be inspiring –inspire me into action. To share, to donate, to do.  Something. Anything. Publicly. Privately.

There is much to do and I’m just one person.  If only I could collate a heap of different ways that we can help others and put them in one place where the load can be shared, perhaps I won’t feel quite so helpless or like the job is too big. 

Wait! I can!

Here are a couple of people doing practical things to assist disadvantaged indigenous children.  At the moment Young and Free are collecting items that many of us take as a given - clothes, toiletries, nappies, shoes, sporting equipment, books, stationery, school bags, basic household items....use your creativity.  You could even make up a pack suitable for a child of a particular age - get together with some friends, pool resources and put some together.

Mothers' Day, on the second Sunday in May in Australia, has reminded me.  I look at all the pressure retailers place on families for days like this and would love to see it stripped back to basics. It's not to everyone's taste, but consider buying mum something that could mean a whole lot more.   

• Oxfam do Oxfam Unwrapped - buy a goat for $38.  It'll help to give a family a livelihood, or milk.
  A Lutheran long-drop loo - $60 will get a loo somewhere like Sudan and make a massive improvement to santiation, via Australian Lutheran World Service.
• At CARE $20 buys a blackboard to help teach and improve children's education or $125 will train a woman to sew so she can start to support herself.
• UNICEF have a wide range of gifts sorted into categories such as Mums & Babies and Health & Nutrition.
• I've mentioned Kiva in a recent post, but with the Aussie dollar so good against the US dollar less than $25 will get a gift card and mum can choose who she'd like to help.
• Or try a website like charity gifts where there are a number of organisations from whom you can choose gifts.

I'm sure a lot of mums/mams/moms would love it if she got to spend some time with you and had a little fun.

It's amazing what happens when you fling open the doors.  We've decided that April's Casual Day funds will go to Australind Children's Fund, who provide aid to orphan, destitute, homeless, abandoned, physically and mentally handicaped children and young people in overseas countries as well as indigenous young people of Australia and New Zealand.