Women and Children First UK

"I am so sorry not to be able to join you this evening, as I had intended.
Illness in the family has made it impossible, but I wanted to send word to say a very big thank you to all of you for coming here tonight - To get here on a wet autumn evening and with so many other calls on your time, is in itself evidence of a commitment, which this charity is very grateful to receive.

I have been a Patron of Women and Children First for a year, and am really impressed with the work that it does, and the manner in which that work is carried out. The charity's title "Women and Children First" derives, I think, from the saying that we now equate with the sinking of the Titanic, when the lives of women and children were apparently prioritised over those of men, when it came to grabbing a space in a lifeboat, - perhaps mythologizing the notion of male courage and self- sacrifice. But as we know, very often it is women whose lives and health are sacrificed to the needs of their families and communities, and the health and safety of women is seldom prioritised.

This charity seeks to address that. They spread their net wide - over many parts of South Asia and sub- Saharan Africa - but their focus is relatively small and localised, and therein lies their success. In creating programmes which seek to spread knowledge and awareness to women in the communities they serve, and in creating practical and sustainable solutions, however small in form, to help women to get through childbirth and its aftermath safely, they are saving thousands of lives, both of women and of their newborn babies. We need you to help all you can to support the charity in its aims and projects - above all to equip women with the tools they need to ensure the healthy survival of themselves and their children - the first and foremost tool being that of knowledge.

Thank you again for coming tonight - and please do sustain your engagement with the charity wherever and however possible. "