The Zonta Club of Nepean Valley celebrated the 20th anniversary of the annual Birthing Kit Assembly Day recently.
47 local people gathered to assemble 1,000 birthing kits and to enjoy an afternoon tea at Our Lady of the Way Church Hall at Emu Plains.
The kits assembled on the day will be sent to various countries around the world.
Among those who volunteered were State Penrith MP Karen McKeown and Robin Cook, both long-term supporters of the event.
Penrith City Council donated towards the cost of purchasing the items for this event.
The first Birthing Kit Assembly Day for this club was instigated in 2004 by member Jenny Young. She has been responsible for organising 21,000 birthing kits at a cost of $51,410 during the last 20 years, apart from 2020 during the COVID epidemic.
Young initially held the club’s own Birthing Kit Assembly Day at her home on Melbourne Cup Day in November 2004. A thousand kits were sent to Myanmar.
Kits were later assembled at Springwood Civic Centre, Blue Mountains Grammar School, St. Paul’s Grammar School, Penrith Anglican College, Nepean Hospital, U3A Hall in Penrith and Our Lady of the Way Church Hall, Emu Plains.
During this period, Birthing Kits were sent to countries such as Myanmar, Madagascar, Papua New Guinea, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Kenya, Nigeria, Malawi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Haiti, India, Timor, Uganda, Zambia and Northern Australia.
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