Meet this amazing humanitarian and mama on a mission

Humanitarian and mama, Helen Manson shares her latest assignment in Bali where Kiwi women are making a world of difference in the lives of local mums and babies.

Words + Photography Helen Manson

Before I started doing humanitarian photography and storytelling, my honest mental temptation was to imagine that mums who lived in poverty ‘on the news’ were fundamentally different to me. Maybe, somehow, these mums just don’t feel things like I do. They’re 'used to it'. Maybe they expect less, care less, hope for less, want less or need less. But painfully, over time, I have seen that they are like me. And what they endure is in no way easier for them because they are poor. I am ashamed to share this, but I wonder if you can relate?

Simply because of an accident of latitude, I was born a white, middle class, Kiwi female. I was born into privilege. I’ve never known hunger, poverty or despair. And yet my life’s work is to move back and forth between worlds of comfort and places of great challenge to remind us that on a very human level there’s no 'us and them'. Let me take you with me on my latest assignment – a project in an unlikely place. Bali, Indonesia. There are some people I’d love you to meet…

But first, some quick context. Bali, known for its swaying palm trees, luscious tropical fruit and balmy weather, is a holidaymaker’s paradise – it also has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. And it’s here that Kiwi aid and development organisation, Tearfund, has Mums and Bubs projects all over the country delivering lifesaving support to mums and their babies born into poverty. While many of us Kiwi mums are concerned with creating the best environment for our babies to thrive (think temperature-controlled rooms, video cameras in cots and playing Mozart) too many mums around the world are just hoping their babies will survive.

In their earliest years, children born into poverty are especially at risk from disease and malnutrition. Because of this, many mums in the world’s poorest countries watch helplessly as their babies die in their arms simply because they don’t have access to the care they need. Moved by this plight, hundreds of incredible Kiwi women have come alongside groups of vulnerable mamas and their babies in Indonesia to provide crucial interventions and care for their first year. Think Plunket-style services for Indonesian mums, but supercharged. How fabulous is that?

Each infant survival project that these Kiwi women support through Tearfund’s partner, Compassion, aims to reduce child mortality rates. I was there to see the project first-hand and find out how support from Kiwi mums was making a difference. My first stop was meeting up with the Compassion Project Director, Domingus, who explained about the types of families they work with.

“The families in this Mums and Bubs project are really poor, earning around NZ $162 per month for an average family of five. Many are casual labourers barely scraping by. Sometimes children miss meals or are unable to go to the doctor. Most are migrants and many work as scavengers on rubbish dumps. Some live in temporary slum housing made from scraps. Traditionally, child sponsorship starts at five. However, it became clear that many kids weren’t even making it to five. We started our infant survival programme (Mums and Bubs) in direct response to that.”

Next, I sat down with Erni, the Project Implementer, to find out exactly what mums in this project receive. She told me, “When a mum is pregnant, we provide health checkups and advocate for a skilled birth attendant to be present during the birth. After the baby is born, we provide breastfeeding and family planning education. Every week, the mums receive training on things like nutrition, hygiene, disease prevention and mental wellbeing. Weekly visits are given to the mums as well as any immunisations, growth checks, nutritional supplements and food that is required. As their child grows, we provide skills training and literacy classes to help mums earn an income in the future”.

As I moved among the room meeting these mums and their beautiful babies, I felt that despite the many practical benefits they receive, perhaps the most useful and meaningful contribution was the gift of a supportive group of mums in similar situations sharing life together. I remember when I was a young mum, how important those groups were for my wellbeing. It was a space where we could commiserate around the lack of sleep and ask the important questions in life like whether our baby's poop colour was normal or not. True story.

This thought was confirmed by Cynthia, who told me she loved to sing and dance with her friends in the group. She also appreciated being able to share her problems, feel supported by her friends and have a safe place to hang out with them.  

I’ve found the beauty of any journey worth taking is that whether you get off the plane in Bali or Baghdad, you find much that is wonderfully different and much that is heart-wrenchingly familiar. As we headed out to the homes of some of the mums, I saw the clear differences. Narrow alleyways, rough-sawn timber buildings, cramped living conditions, a lack of running water and overcrowded bathroom facilities, all set amongst sweltering heat.  I also clung to the familiar. Fresh washing hanging on a line, the smell of onions and garlic cooking, the muffled sound of Peppa Pig on a device somewhere, and the warmth of the sun on my skin.

One mum named Nofi really stood out. Nofi and her family live in one room on the second level of a rundown boarding house. 10 years ago, she was tragically widowed and forced to leave her first son with his grandparents to find work in Bali.

“Life for me was unpredictable, times were always hard. My husband was away working while I was pregnant with my first child. I was so happy to be pregnant but I had great difficulty giving birth, I also worried about how I would be able to feed my children, always wondering how I could earn extra money so my family could eat”. Nofi ended up giving birth at home, alone. Then, when her son was five years old her husband died suddenly from a mystery illness. Nofi was forced to find work in Bali, leaving her son with his grandparents.

A few years ago, she remarried and while pregnant with her second child she met Erni who was visiting another mum in her boarding house. Erni registered her in the Mums and Bubs programme. Nofi gave birth to baby Flora over Christmas, again, it was a difficult birth that required an emergency Caesarean-section, which was made possible with financial support from the programme. “During my recovery, Erni came to my home and supplied me with clothes, rice, beef, chicken, eggs, and all of baby’s needs (baths, baby products, mattress, diapers) as well as helping with breastfeeding – I was so grateful. So much of the burden for our survival was on my husband, but since I’ve joined the programme that burden is shared. I am so much happier, I never used to go out, I had no relationships.  Now I have lots to do, and lots of other women to share my time with.”

Another mum I met was Yuli. She has two children, one aged four and the other five months old.

“I come from a farming family with eight siblings", says Yuli “I came to Bali thinking there would be better job opportunities, but there weren’t. My husband is the only one who can find work, and even then, it pays very little. I have received help from the Compassion project with my children by receiving food packages and knowledge about how to take care of my kids. I feel so grateful and touched when I hear that mums in New Zealand are supporting us. Without this project, I wouldn’t have enough food to feed my babies, I wouldn’t have enough resources to give clean water to my children.”

Without a doubt, this project has saved lives. Each of the mums I visited or whose photos I took, would hold our hands at the end of our time together, look me square in the eyes and say, please tell the New Zealand women: “Thank you. Thank you for loving our babies”.

The strength and resilience of the women I meet around the world never ceases to amaze me. What powerful stories they tell of the obstacles that they have overcome and the way they fight for a better future for their children. As a mum of three, I feel sick when I think about the little ones around the world who don’t have access to the same things mine do. Simple stuff like food, clean water and medical care. That’s not okay with me. And I think that’s why I love this programme so much. It's saying to a mum and her baby living in poverty: “We have your back.” Returning home, I was intrigued to meet and hear from the Kiwi mums supporting this project and their motivation to do so. 

Kiwi mum, Zoe Howcroft shared with me, “I love the idea that we can form a circle of protection around these mums and their babies in Indonesia. I have three young children of my own, and I can hardly imagine what it must be like to be unable to feed them or provide the medicine they need to survive. I want to support them like I hope someone would support me”.

Kiwi mum, Esther Waithera told me, "Being raised in Kenya by a single mum in a simple village means I have some idea of how hard it is to raise children when you're living in poverty. Now that I’m living in New Zealand, I was moved to do my little bit to help mums around the world”.

Tearfund’s Mums and Bubs Campaign Manager, Kelly Burgess, told me, “It’s been incredible to see New Zealand women rallying around these Indonesian mums. The programme has grown so quickly, we’ve been able to open and support new projects! We keep them connected to one another via email with stories and photos a few times a year”.

This photography assignment helped me break down the divide I’d created in my mind between me and them. It showed me the common humanity we all share. I found the mums we met in the slums of Indonesia were just like me, with kids like mine. And I discovered there’s really no difference in what we want for our children; only in what we are able to give them.

As different as our cultures and contexts might be, the universal gifts and challenges of motherhood unite us. And as a proud supporter of this Mums and Bubs project, I feel like it’s all about lightening a mother’s load. What a beautiful privilege it is to do that.

For more information on Tearfund’s Mums and Bubs Project through Compassion and how you can join these mums, please visit tearfund.org.nz/mumsandbubs.

Helen Manson is a multi-award-winning Kiwi humanitarian photographer and storyteller. When she’s not ‘shooting in the field’, you’ll find her at home in Auckland, on the trampoline with her husband and three little ones.