Judy Coram – Winner of the AAIMH (Vic) Ann Morgan Prize 2011
Loading ...I am delighted to be the winner this year of the Anne Morgan prize for my work with ‘The Free Baby’ I am sorry I am unable to be with you in person today but I am still working in Pakistan in a Maternal and Child Health program in a rural community for MSF. I am so pleased however that my daughter Georgie can represent my work today by reading my essay to you all. I want to take this opportunity of thanking my family Tom, Georgie and Pippa for being so understanding and patient with their nomadic mother since I started this work 5 years ago! Soon I will be there to plant vegies with you!
My journey into writing began late in my career when following my first mission with MSF in Thailand I met up with Frances to discuss some of the more challenging aspects of the work. Typical of Frances she left me with the thought ‘Judy, you really must get some of this clinical work down on paper!’
Little did I know then what a lifeline this was to become for me in this work. During my work in Uganda I was able to do several Infant Mental Health interventions in the Nutrition ward of severely compromised infants many of whom were unable to move forward with nutritional supplements alone. This was at times an overwhelming feeling when faced with such hopelessness, deprivation and despair. My writing became a way for me to find a clearer path often in a sea of chaos and was a way for me to debrief myself. More importantly it became an anchor and a lifeline as Frances so graciously provided long distance supervision to me and provided a ‘secure base’ for me to not feel so isolated in this work. It gave me the courage to continue and not despair in the face of so much adversity and deprivation. Her words that infants need to ‘drink in more than milk’ resound clearly when I am working with malnourished infants but sadly this is not well understood by many in the field, and these interventions are often missing from the nutritional units. My work continues with MSF and I am now able to ‘pass on’ some of my experience and understanding of this to the staff. One of my counsellors who is studying psychology, following some Infant Mental Health interventions together, said that it has ‘opened’ up a new understanding for her. Of course as Psychology is a relative new field in Pakistan her university had not heard about Infant Mental Health at all!
So from small beginnings at the Infant Mental Health Group in Melbourne this message is taken to the wider world so that infants do not have to remain invisible to the world. I am grateful to this group for enabling me to have the insights to work in this way and that this knowledge can be taken into the wider communities. How difficult it is though to keep the infant in mind when faced with such deprivation, poverty and despair? So many people affected by the impact of war and displacement from their lands, families and homes and living in such dire circumstances with no access to health care or education. There are so many Salida’s across the world but it takes minimal interventions to sometimes make a difference in some of their lives.
Finally to discuss the dichotomy observed in Pakistan on the role of women and mothers. It is clear that culture strongly overrides religion on this subject.
The following quote from the Quran:
Mother is the name of Paradise, paradise is in her feet. Mother is the name of love, love in her heart. Mother is the name of the knowledge, knowledge is in her lap. Mother is the name of friendship, friendship is in her act, mother is the name of life, life is in her child (Quran vs ).
Mothers are highly respected and revered in the Quran and there are many quotes expounding the virtues of mothers, but as the The Free Baby attests to in the following essay this is not the reality in much of this culture.
A man once asked the Prophet to whom he should show the most kindness. The Prophet replied: “Your mother, next your mother, next your mother, and then your father.” (Sunan of Abu-Dawood) In other words, we must treat our mothers in a manner befitting their exalted position – and, again, revere the wombs that bore us.
The Arabic word for womb is “rahem.” Rahem is derived from the word for mercy. In Islamic tradition, one of God’s 99 names is “Al-Raheem,” or “the Most Merciful.”There exists, therefore, a unique connection between God and the womb. Through the womb, we get a glimpse of the Almighty’s qualities and attributes. It nurtures, feeds and shelters us in the early stages of life. The womb can be viewed as one manifestation of divinity in the world.
Why then are women and children treated in the way they are here?
Thank you again for the honour of receiving this award and especially to Anne Morgan whose work with her bracelet came alive for me when working with malnourished infants!
The Free Baby
Mother is the name of Paradise, paradise is in her feet. Mother is the name of love, love in her heart. Mother is the name of the knowledge, knowledge is in her lap. Mother is the name of friendship, friendship is in her act, mother is the name of life, life is in her child (Quran vs ).
Salida (meaning Good Deeds in Pashtu) first came to my attention in the crowded Outpatient Department in a remote Rural Health Clinic in the area of Kutchlak, Baluchistan Province, Pakistan. The room was congested with different ethnic women from the surrounding rural areas, including the Kuchi women with their sad and neglected children. The Kuchi are a nomadic tribe from Afghanistan, recognisable by their brightly coloured, beautifully beaded dresses. This is in such contrast to the Pashtu women, Read more
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