God Bless, Mum

You may remember that last year I entered (walked) the Race for Hope, a charity even in support of the attempt to find a cure for brain tumors. It was particularly appropriate as a family friend had recently been diagnosed with a brain tumor, and we didn't at that time know what her prognosis was. Happily it looks as though she will survive, albeit with some attendant problems.

I am entering the walk again, but this year I will be making a personal contribution as I have another charity in mind for a more public appeal. Some readers may know that my mother died recently (on Saturday March 28, in fact, the middle day of PyCon). She'd been in failing health, so her death didn't come as a surprise, but if you'd been wondering why I wasn't my usual bubbly self at PyCon that was the reason why.

Rather than have people send flowers to the funeral the family decided we would look for a deserving charity, and ask people to make contributions to that instead. Mum was a midwife, with a healthy interest in the third world—she even took Urdu lessons at one point, and so the charity we chose was Safe Hands for Mothers. I hope that readers will support them through this page (for US donors the CAF link is easiest if you want to give money, just remember to click the "I don't live in the UK" button before entering your address).They are trying to help communities like those in sub-Saharan Africa, where mothers face a 1 in 16 chance of dying during pregnancy and childbirth.

Their web site doesn't have any way to record donations against a particular name, so I'd appreciate it if you would add a comment here should you decide to make a donation. We have so much in the way of material wealth in the United States and the rest of the Western world, and our gifts can make a huge difference to less fortunate individuals. Over 1,400 mothers die every day, many of them from avoidable complications. Please try and help them if you can. Thanks.