Le Ciel. La Rue... Santé: August 2010

Vraiment Inspirant!

It brings me indescribable joy when I discover something truly inspiring. Truly inspiring in my opinion, is fashion with a message- a creative fusion of fashion and health. Truly inspiring is the amazing strapless dress, partly woven from blue recycled mosquito nets recently modeled by Kate Moss. The “mosquito-net” dress was exclusively designed by William Tempest, one of London’s hottest young designers, for the Sport Relief 2010 campaign as part of an effort to combat malaria in 2010. Though preventable and treatable, malaria accounts for a staggering number of deaths. Tempest and Moss are thus using this dress to raise awareness and sensitize the public to the magnitude of the mosquito-borne disease. In addition, they hope to help raise funds for insecticide treated nets- one of the most cost effective methods used in preventing the spread of malaria.

Image Credit: stylehunter

William Tempest isn’t the only designer making statements with malaria inspired pieces. Motivated by Malaria No More UK’s mission, Designer Markus Lupfer has also designed a netted navy cocktail dress that is up for grabs at asos.

Image Credit: asos

The designer uses this dress as an expressive medium to get the word out about the severity of malaria and also to raise funds for mosquito nets in rural Africa where a huge percentage of lives are lost as a result of the disease. Only 750 of the beautiful Lupfer netted charity dresses are up for sale. Funds from the purchase of the dress will benefit a country in Southern Africa where two thirds of its population is at risk of malaria.

Also on asos is a lovely Stephen Webster mosquito ring commissioned by the Malaria Awareness Campaign to raise awareness about malaria among UK travelers. The ring has already been spotted on Victoria Beckham. What better feeling than to know you are not only shopping for amazing pieces but also supporting a great cause in the process ;-)

Image Credit: asos

Raising health awareness and making a difference can obviously be done in truly inspiring [vraiment inspirant] ways...

Why not Fashion?

Ps: Every year there are about 250 million malaria cases and one million malaria deaths. One in every five childhood deaths is as a result of this disease. Every 30 seconds, a child dies from malaria. In other words, about 4 children have died due to the disease while you read this post- CRAZY! Make a difference today, get involved! Sport Relief has terrific and easy fundraising ideas if you want to be a part of making a difference in the spread of malaria.

Source:
-Sport Relief, 2010
-World Health Organization, 2009

Dying to Give Life

Afghanistan, Niger, Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Yemen, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Sudan, Eritrea and Equatorial Guinea- these are the world’s worst places to be a mother. In these countries, the joy of pregnancy is often accompanied by the fear of dying. The unwelcome pass of the baton, between mother and child -wherein a first breath and new life is exchanged for last breath and death, has become common place.

Every minute a woman dies in pregnancy or child birth. 99 percent of these deaths occur in developing countries.

In Niger, 1 in 7 women die in pregnancy or childbirth, with 1 in 8 dying in both Afghanistan and Sierra Leone. In comparison the risk of dying in childbirth is less than 1 in 25,000 in both Greece and Italy and less than 1 in 47,600 in Ireland. In Africa as a whole, the risk of maternal death is 1 in every 16 women whereas in Northern Europe, 1 in 4000 women risks dying from pregnancy related causes.

These statistics may be hard to relate with and might feel like just... well, numbers to you. However, this "story of Mama Sessay: one woman's journey from pregnancy to death" might make it more real for you. It is one out of thousands of heartbreaking untold stories; where the lack of simple and basic services could cost a mother her life.

Enter the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood.

The White Ribbon Alliance is a global effort of international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), United Nations (UN) agencies, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to raise awareness of the need to make pregnancy and childbirth safe for all women and newborns in developed as well as developing countries. Two fashion models working in collaboration with the White Ribbon Alliance are using fashion as a vehicle for change in the area of maternal mortality.

Image Credit: Zimbio

“MODE for Charity 2010 – babies and mothers” was a White Ribbon charity event and fashion show headed by its Japanese ambassador and international model – Ai Tominaga. Featuring clothes by Japanese fashion designers, the show and event aimed to raise awareness in Japan on maternal mortality issues affecting developing countries and advocate funding for maternal health projects in Zambia where maternal mortality is among one of the highest in Africa.

Image Credit: Zimbio

Naomi

Image Credit: hipcandy

Global Ambassador to the White Ribbon alliance, Naomi Campbell is a model who uses her high profile in fashion as a vehicle for change especially in the area of maternal mortality. She has been involved with a number of projects to support the White Ribbon Alliance notably her “Fashion for Relief” charity fashion show. This year, Fashion for Relief Haiti was held to raise funds for mothers and babies in Haiti. Her other White Ribbon Alliance projects include teaming up with Louis Vuitton to select a Spring/ Summer bag that would have a portion of its proceeds given to the White Ribbon. Last Year, a beautiful Khaki metallic striped bag was chosen to be sold this year to benefit the Alliance.