This video was created by the Youth team attending WABA. They're a highly motivated, fun-loving and inspirational group.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
In summary ...
I would like to set the record straight here - it would be very easy for the those who know me to assume that the location of a conference at a beach resort in warm sunny Malaysia was a disguise for an R&R opportunity for this Aussie beach-babe and her two willing compatriots ........ How wrong you would be! We were heavily ensconced in international policy and political intricacies of breastfeeding advocates whose lives are threatened on a daily basis as they stand up for what they believe in.
- We voted on consensus for the correct use of Plumpinutt in cases of medical emergency for malnutrition.
We were present for the launch of Youth for Breastfeeding- the young leaders of future breastfeeding advocacy.We formulated action plans for WABA to proceed with mother-friendly practices.We discussed gender sensitive national policies and women's and baby's rights.We debated rights/wrongs of expressing vs feeding at the breast. We pledged to continue our work to tell the world that mothers and babies need to stay together. We were reminded of the power of money used by infant formula manufacturers against the power of the people protecting breastfeeding. AND We always wore a hat and sunscreen so we aren't bronzed (haha!)
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
the GBPF, the GBPM and the SCM
Haha - one of my biggest learning curves so far has been to learn all the new acronyms. I now have sympathy for newbies coming into medical-speak.
Anyway, the GBPF (Global Breastfeeding Partners Forum) was an exciting 3 days of presentations and workshops. It was like no conference I've ever attended before - this 'conference' had different goals. Most conferences are just to impart knowledge, whereas the Forum had plenary sessions addressing certain themes (sharing knowledge), followed by targeted workshops for the audience to discuss how the knowledge could be applied or disseminated. What was very interesting though was the participants came from 36 countries, so the perspectives were often illuminating to my limited world experience. Note takers were assigned to each session to record the comments ... you'll see why soon.
It wasn't ALL work and no play. There were some wonderful dance and mime presentations ... and the WABA Secretariat did the WABA Crawl - I hope someone has put it up on Youtube... it was fun.
After the GBPF was a day of the GBPM (Global Breastfeeding Partners Meeting). Now of course you'll all know that WABA has 5 Core Partners (LLLI, IBFAN, ABM, Wellstart and of course ILCA). This meeting was for them and the Regional Representatives. Apart from the usual reporting stuff, the ideas and actions from the previous workshops was presented and these were then categorised and prioritised according to importance and ability to achieve given the resources at hand.
It was a very interesting process for me, and one that I feel was very effective.
After this was a day off!! My feet felt wonderful after the reflexologist had done his thing and the masseuse, who does traditional Malay massage, gave me strict instructions on how to stop the tension and knots she had such trouble getting rid of in my neck and shoulders (basically, keep away from computers!! if only!)
Got to finish for today, but will add more tomorrow .. and some pics.
Anyway, the GBPF (Global Breastfeeding Partners Forum) was an exciting 3 days of presentations and workshops. It was like no conference I've ever attended before - this 'conference' had different goals. Most conferences are just to impart knowledge, whereas the Forum had plenary sessions addressing certain themes (sharing knowledge), followed by targeted workshops for the audience to discuss how the knowledge could be applied or disseminated. What was very interesting though was the participants came from 36 countries, so the perspectives were often illuminating to my limited world experience. Note takers were assigned to each session to record the comments ... you'll see why soon.
It wasn't ALL work and no play. There were some wonderful dance and mime presentations ... and the WABA Secretariat did the WABA Crawl - I hope someone has put it up on Youtube... it was fun.
After the GBPF was a day of the GBPM (Global Breastfeeding Partners Meeting). Now of course you'll all know that WABA has 5 Core Partners (LLLI, IBFAN, ABM, Wellstart and of course ILCA). This meeting was for them and the Regional Representatives. Apart from the usual reporting stuff, the ideas and actions from the previous workshops was presented and these were then categorised and prioritised according to importance and ability to achieve given the resources at hand.
It was a very interesting process for me, and one that I feel was very effective.
After this was a day off!! My feet felt wonderful after the reflexologist had done his thing and the masseuse, who does traditional Malay massage, gave me strict instructions on how to stop the tension and knots she had such trouble getting rid of in my neck and shoulders (basically, keep away from computers!! if only!)
Got to finish for today, but will add more tomorrow .. and some pics.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Brisbane to Penang
We're here! We made it! Only a little over 9 hours flying time, but it was a 17-hour day door-to-door. Bridget, who needs to go into a deep meditative state on take-off and landing, has now found a greater fear - Penang taxi rides!
I'm staying at the beautiful Bayview Resort Hotel - right on the beach, which would be very tempting if the sessions and presentations weren't so interesting, inspiring, exciting ... I can't think of enough descriptors. I'll write more about them later. I'm sharing my hotel room with Johanna, the ILCA/WABA Fellow from 2008. This is a great bonus - she didn't get to sleep until after midnight last night as I plied her with questions about what my working and social life is going to be like for the next 3 months.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Leaving tomorrow!
This morning I farewelled my home, and the chickens and the vegie garden and my lovely comfy bed and travelled to Brisbane to work the day in the Brisbane office, staying overnight ready for an early departure tomorrow. After agonising about what to pack I finally decided on a few cotton skirts and tops, and anything I didn't have would be easy enough to buy over there. And checked 5 times that I have my passport!
Bridget and Samantha are both coming to Penang for the conference and we'll be travelling together. Having them come with me for the first few days makes the whole trip seem less daunting.
I've been reading every word on the WABA website, making sure I have a good understanding of all their current, past and future projects, and getting an idea of who's who. Wow there's some names in WABA who have had a huge impact on the lives of infants through their work with breastfeeding over the years! What a privilege for me to be working with these people. Not long now!
Bridget and Samantha are both coming to Penang for the conference and we'll be travelling together. Having them come with me for the first few days makes the whole trip seem less daunting.
I've been reading every word on the WABA website, making sure I have a good understanding of all their current, past and future projects, and getting an idea of who's who. Wow there's some names in WABA who have had a huge impact on the lives of infants through their work with breastfeeding over the years! What a privilege for me to be working with these people. Not long now!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
The preparations begin
I'm to start the Fellowship by attending the Global Breastfeeding Partners Forum from the 17th to 19th October. That gave me about 3 weeks from being notified before leaving! Yikes!! And as luck would have it, I'd already registered to attend the Susuibu conference in Kuala Lumpur from the 3rd to the 10th Oct!!!! That didn't leave me much time to prepare for a 3-month trip away - 5 days to be precise!
I'll be leaving my husband at home to look after the home, my big vegetable garden and, of course, to continue running our business - he'll get plenty of help doing that from Sam, Bridget, Freddy and Trinity!
After accepting the position the doubts began to creep in - 'what if I'm not able to do what they want me to do?', 'will I miss my husband too much?', 'will he really eat all the vegies that will be ready to be harvested while I'm away, or leave them for the caterpillars?', 'how will they cope at work without me?'. Needless to say all those being left at home have reassured me that they'll manage admirably without me. Only time will tell whether I am what WABA needs, and yes I'm sure I will miss my husband a lot, but the time will fly by.
Initially I regretted having to go to the Susuibu conference as I thought I could have used that time at home to prepare for the longer trip. But as it has turned out I met lots of wonderful friendly Malaysians which assured me I won't be lonely, and Julianna from WABA who I will be working with in Penang and who really made me feel that I will be welcomed.
I was a bit worried about what I should wear and how I should behave in this predominantly Muslim country. Again though I had nothing to worry about - during my week in KL I saw that dress in the city was not dissimilar to my home town of Brisbane (shorts, sleeveless tops were common); but felt that when out with my Muslim colleagues a skirt to the knees and a top with at least short sleeves to be more respectful.
I also had misconceptions about Muslim women, thinking they were quiet, reserved and subservient to their husbands. Not so!! A more vibrant, fun-loving, empowered group of women I have yet to meet!! And the few husbands I did meet were wonderfully supportive of their wives and their activities, and great dads!
The weather is hot with very high humidity all year round, with the few months I will be there having the highest rainfall. Hmmm tropical downpours will be interesting to experience. Clothing-wise it'll be loose, natural fibre fabrics. With the cost of clothing over there I think I'll only be packing a few clothes to get me through the first week and buying more once settled - a half empty suitcase going over, laden coming home! Don't let me forget the umbrella though, please!
Tomorrow I'm packing.
I'll be leaving my husband at home to look after the home, my big vegetable garden and, of course, to continue running our business - he'll get plenty of help doing that from Sam, Bridget, Freddy and Trinity!
After accepting the position the doubts began to creep in - 'what if I'm not able to do what they want me to do?', 'will I miss my husband too much?', 'will he really eat all the vegies that will be ready to be harvested while I'm away, or leave them for the caterpillars?', 'how will they cope at work without me?'. Needless to say all those being left at home have reassured me that they'll manage admirably without me. Only time will tell whether I am what WABA needs, and yes I'm sure I will miss my husband a lot, but the time will fly by.
Initially I regretted having to go to the Susuibu conference as I thought I could have used that time at home to prepare for the longer trip. But as it has turned out I met lots of wonderful friendly Malaysians which assured me I won't be lonely, and Julianna from WABA who I will be working with in Penang and who really made me feel that I will be welcomed.
I was a bit worried about what I should wear and how I should behave in this predominantly Muslim country. Again though I had nothing to worry about - during my week in KL I saw that dress in the city was not dissimilar to my home town of Brisbane (shorts, sleeveless tops were common); but felt that when out with my Muslim colleagues a skirt to the knees and a top with at least short sleeves to be more respectful.
I also had misconceptions about Muslim women, thinking they were quiet, reserved and subservient to their husbands. Not so!! A more vibrant, fun-loving, empowered group of women I have yet to meet!! And the few husbands I did meet were wonderfully supportive of their wives and their activities, and great dads!
The weather is hot with very high humidity all year round, with the few months I will be there having the highest rainfall. Hmmm tropical downpours will be interesting to experience. Clothing-wise it'll be loose, natural fibre fabrics. With the cost of clothing over there I think I'll only be packing a few clothes to get me through the first week and buying more once settled - a half empty suitcase going over, laden coming home! Don't let me forget the umbrella though, please!
Tomorrow I'm packing.
WABA and the ILCA Fellowship
About two to three weeks ago Angela from ILCA greeted me on the phone with, "You've got the WABA Fellowship".
For those unsure of what WABA is, here is a small synopsis from their website:
"The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) is a global network of individuals & organisations concerned with the protection, promotion & support of breastfeeding worldwide.
WABA is in consultative status with UNICEF & an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC)."
ILCA (International Lactation Consultants Association) is a member organisation of WABA, and it is they who are sponsoring my Fellowship to work with WABA.
This blog of my experiences in Malaysia and with WABA was suggested by my friend Diana. I hope you'll find my journey interesting and fun to read about.
For those unsure of what WABA is, here is a small synopsis from their website:
"The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) is a global network of individuals & organisations concerned with the protection, promotion & support of breastfeeding worldwide.
WABA is in consultative status with UNICEF & an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC)."
ILCA (International Lactation Consultants Association) is a member organisation of WABA, and it is they who are sponsoring my Fellowship to work with WABA.
This blog of my experiences in Malaysia and with WABA was suggested by my friend Diana. I hope you'll find my journey interesting and fun to read about.
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