Salisbury mum collecting baby slings for Ukrainian refugee mothers
More acts of kindness from our local community
Last updated 3rd Mar 2022
We've been hearing from a mum in Salisbury who's collecting baby slings for refugee mothers from Ukraine.
Andi Booth is part of a local community of mums who share tips and advice on 'babywearing' the practice of wearing or carrying a baby in a sling or in another form of carrier.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio, Andi said she felt compelled to help after learning of the long journeys mothers take to get safely to refugee camps outside the western Ukrainian border, all while carrying their babies on their arms.
"I was watching the news and I was just watching these women carrying their babies in their arms, and the news reporter was saying that some of these people were travelling for 20-30 kilometres.
"It's hard to hold a baby when you stand for 10 minutes even. To carry them for that massive distance and hands aren't free to do anything else.
"It got me thinking, if they had a sling it would be so much easier for them".
"From, I don't know, Victorian times we've been taught to put the baby in a pram, but actually it's really important we hold our babies close. And if you're in a war zone you wouldn't want your baby anywhere other than right next to you and really safe."
Andi Booth, who's a member of the Salisbury Sling Library, told us she is working with distribution groups to get the donations to the Polish border once she's collected a decent number of slings.
She says she doesn't know if she'll be able to get the slings to mothers who are trying to flee Ukraine, as some of the groups she's in contact with are already safely on the Polish border.
"I don't know realistically if we'll be able to get them into Ukraine.
"We've been given a few contacts who are involved with the sling community in Ukraine, and some of those have moved out and are on the border helping there.
"We're trying to make sure that people are showed how to use the slings properly, so we're in the process of getting the babywearing safety guidelines translated into Ukrainian and Russian."
Andi Booth is appealing for parents to donate slings they no longer need or use.
More information on how to support the appeal can be found on the Salisbury Sling Library Facebook page.