Scottish Women’s Charity Aims to Raise £20k in a Week

For any woman, the pregnancy and birth journey can be a difficult one. Add cultural difference, racial inequality, language barriers and poverty into the mix and it can go from difficult to harrowing. This is why the work of Scottish charity, Amma Birth Companions is so important to the women on Glasgow, experiencing such a journey. Amma provides care, education, and advocacy to parents in need of additional support by offering birth and postnatal companionship.

In addition Amma also offers much needed antenatal education and peer support activities. Yesterday saw Amma launch its part in the Big Give ‘Women and Girls Match Fund’ campaign, with an ambitious target to raise £20,000 in just one week.

The funds raised will go towards the creation of the Amma Access Fund: a new grant designed to make training in birth work more accessible to women from underrepresented groups.

The Amma Birth Companions volunteers are specially trained to deliver specialist trauma informed and culturally competent care throughout the perinatal period.

‘At Amma, we aim to welcome a wide range of voices and experiences to our team of volunteers, peer supporters, and educators…having the continuous support of someone with shared cultural identity or lived experience can be incredibly valuable, and can ultimately lead to improved birth and parenting outcomes,’ says Amanda Purdie, Amma’s Head of Strategy.

‘But we also know from experience there are many barriers to accessing training. To date we have struggled to remove these barriers because we lack the dedicated funding to do so.’

The campaign will run until March 15th and during this time, all donations will be generously matched up to £10,000 by DCMS’ Tampon Tax Fund.

The Access Fund will be open to Amma’s clients or volunteers who experience inequalities due to race, immigration status, or low income. It will be used to pay course fees for approved training providers or to cover ancillary costs for anyone who wishes to train as an Amma companion. Purdie explains, ‘The Amma Access Fund is more than a scholarship: it’s designed to remove any barriers to accessing quality training in birth work. Successful applicants can also apply for the cost of childcare, transportation, interpreting, and learning resources.’

Former Amma client, Yvonne, says: ‘I’ve walked this journey. I know what it’s like to give birth in a new country, separated from friends and family. I also know what it’s like to have support from Amma during this time. I now want to become that source of support for someone who needs it.’

All donations to the Access Fund can be made through the Big Give from March 8-15.