Every birthday is mother’s day

A birthday usually is an occasion for receiving gifts, but the Kiwanis Club of Las Perlas, Ciudad de Panamá, Panama, celebrates by giving gifts.

Every year, the Kiwanians deliver baskets of baby products to new mothers whose children are born on November 26, the club’s organization date.

“We coordinate with the chief of the Maternity Department at Hospital Santo Tomás, which is for people of limited resources,” says club president Lorena Moreno. “The chief evaluates which ladies can receive the baskets.

“In some cases, the families have up to five children,” she adds. “And in the mothers’ faces, you recognize the malnutrition right away. Some of the babies are premature, so the parents don’t have anything ready. They are so poor.”

The club prepares eight “baskets,” which actually are baby carriers. The carriers are filled with basic baby items, such as bottles, pacifiers, diapers, and clothes. As a final touch, the packages are wrapped and decorated with ribbons and bows.

“The mothers’ happiness is huge,” Lorena says, because they have almost nothing and we bring a bit of peace by giving them so many things for their babies.”