PRESS RELEASE
Onkwehonwe Midwives Collective 891 Island Road, Kawehnoke, ON K6H5R7 P. (613) 938-2229 F. (613) 932-5080 eFax (613) 902-3511
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Anastasia George, Executive Director 07/07/2023
ONKWEHÓN:WE MIDWIVES COLLECTIVE RECEIVES $34,980 GRANT FOR FIRST FOOD PROJECT
The Onkwehonwe Midwives Collective recently received a $34,980 grant from the First Nations Development Institute of Longmont, Colorado. This award will support the efforts of the OMC’s First Food Project.
The First Foods Project was developed to create an avenue for postpartum mothers and newborns to retain ancestral food sources and to also to leverage postpartum nutrition to better control the health outcomes and increase breastfeeding rates by utilizing traditional foods to help nourish our postpartum mothers and babies. The OMC was able to purchase a Fridge and Freezer to store wild game received from local hunters, as well as breast milk donations. We purchase 4 shares of Community Supported Agriculture from Kent Farms, a local establishment. We were able to serve 310 families with Wild Game – Bison, Venison and Moose Meat, as well as 253 families with organic herbs and vegetables.
The Onkwehonwe Midwives Collective is located on Kawehnoke in Akwesasne. The OMC offers our culturally-safe and culturally-specific midwifery care to Akwesasró:non, and on occasion, we offer support to members of our sister communities and other Onkwehón:we nations.
By providing culture-centered care, we aim to sustain our Onkwehón:we way of life. We perpetuate this connection by welcoming future ancestors in our traditional lands, with family and community surrounding the new faces and cradling them in our language, traditions, culture and medicines.
The OMC would like to express our gratitude to the FNDI for the opportunity to fund the First Foods Project and facilitate its success.
