THE STORY of a GREAT WORK

Ladies' Mirror, Volume 2, Issue 2, 1 August 1923, Page ii (Supplement)

THE STORY of a GREAT WORK

Extract from Mr. A. M. Myers' letter of June 15 to the President of the PlunJcet Society: —■ "I have read with much interest the report of the meeting of the Auckland branch of the Plunket Society, held yesterday. You are aware that my wife and I have always taken a keen interest in this society, and recognising the good work that is being done by the Auckland branch wider your able presidency, I beg to intimate to you that I shall be pleased to donate the sum of £SOOO toward the establishment of a Karitane Home at Auckland, and trust the time is not far distant when sick infants will not have to be exposed to the risk of a long journey to Wanganui, simply because a Karitane Rome is lacking in our city." Extracts from "New Zealand Herald'' of June 29th: Another splendid contribution toward the establishment of a Karitane Hospital in Auckland has been made by Mr. A. C. Caughey. He has made an absolute gift to the Plunket Society of his home at Mount Albert, including the land occupied by the valuable buildings, the society paying for the balance of the land at a price determined by two valuers, nominated by itself and approved by Mr. Caughey. Wellington, Friday. An increased vole for the Plunket Society is to be made by the Government this year. Mr. Masse)/ stated in the House of Representatives to-night that he thought the contribution to the society this year would be £17,000., A Labour Member: What teas it last year? Mr. Massey: £II,OOO. We have doubled the grant in five years.

IT is now 16 years since Dr. Triiby King found three tiny babies, neglected and dying, in a stable attached to a "licensed home' in DunedinA Home! Mrs. King received the little waifs and cared for them, and her real mothering and the Doctor's skill, won life and eventually health for the tiny unhappy things. Magically they throve under the humanised milk diet ordered by the Doctor, and so began one of the finest societies in the world: a small beginning, calling human sympathy and skill to an intense need, a need that struck at the very root of our national lifethe welfare of baby lives. Beginning in a small cottage, the Karitane Home, supplemented by funds —both placed at Dr. Truby King's disposal by a well-known Dunedin family—the work grew, and now there are always at least fifteen nurses in training, besides cots being maintained for twenty-five babies at a time. "One wishes one could believe a little more in the 'mother instinct' theory," said Miss Partridge, the indefatigable Auckland secretary, when speaking to an interested friend of the cause, "but the number of poor little wrecks that may be seen* any day at our rooms proves that this 'mother instinct' is very much a delusion.' " It would seem that instinct," while sufficient in wild animals, is not enough for human needs, unless it is trained instinct plus knowledge is what is surely needed, and that knowledge is given through the medium of the Plunket Society. While the bulk of the work is advisory and is conducted in the homes, there are many cases which need expert care for a certain time, and it is for these cases that the Karitane Home itself is essential. Nothing is too much trouble for a Plunket Nurse. Patiently and systematically she will seek to discover the cause that makes what should be a laughing, dimpled baby, a sickly, wailing little bundle of pathos—a sight that grips one's heart-strings. Backed by science and efficiency, she will seek 'to remove the evil cause and put wrong right, and the marvellous results which have made Dr. Truby King name famous practically all over the world speak for themselves. Someone has rightly said: "If we could only touch the imagination of every man and woman in the community and make each see that if he

or she only cared enough to give practical assistance, at least half the babies who now die would live, and the standard of the health of the rest would be raised.'' And again: "We don't want to teach mothers to cure sick babies—Ave want to teach them to prevent the baby from becoming ill. The Society cares for children up to five years of —except in very special circumstances, and, as the secretary said, If only people could see the pitifully wan little mites that are brought to us, and compare them with the healthy, plump children they

become after a few weeks of trained care, they would see that the need is greater than they realise. Christchurch and Wanganui each have a well-equipped Karitane Home, and last year a successful campaign in Wellington enabled the Society to purchase and equip a large home on Kent Terrace, to form the headquarters of the movement in that city —and now Auckland's chance has come. Through the generosity of two of our leading citizens Hon. A. Myers, who has donated the sum of £SOOO, and Mr. A. C. Caughey, who has presented his fine home at Mount Albert to the Auckland will now no longer lag behind and acknowledge that she has to send her little ailing ones all the way to Wanganui for Karitane treatment. Soon she will have her own Home, filling a long-felt want, but, and this is the point: Will the mothers and fathers realise this, that every society must have funds for its upkeep; and will they spare a little to help? Will they help, for the sake of the skill and care their own little children may need; will they help in gratitude for their own healthy, happy babies who have no such need; will they help in sympathy for the little sick ones of other mothers victims, sometimes, of the great curse of ignorance, which only a great work like the Plunket system will relieve? We are sure they will. Subscriptions will be received by the Secretary, the Plunket Society, 174 Symonds Street, Auckland. Will you promise to give annually 5/-, 10/-, £1 1/-, or whatever you feel you can afford?