The gift of life

To know that another new mother is holding her living, healthy baby on the remote Papua New Guinean island of Kiriwina is especially joyful for Jodi Lawton. The Sydney-based mum of two has been supplying birthing kits to the island for a decade, which has meant more women there have safer pregnancies and births. She was inspired to help thanks to a family connection – and a life-changing cancer battle of her own which, she says, gave her the courage to go to Kiriwina and establish basic maternal and infant care training.

“Most women on Kiriwina have experienced that gut-wrenching heartache of losing a child during pregnancy or birth,” says Jodi, 52. “I was well out of my comfort zone but I had to do whatever I could to help.”