‘NGUKIRRI’
MEANING
‘TO GIVE’ IN NGEMBA WEILWAN LANGUAGE.
‘KIRRALAA'
MEANING
star
'MALIYAN'
MEANING
WEDGETAIL EAGLE
DONATIONS CAN BE MADE TO THE BANK ACCOUNT BELOW OR ONLINE
NGUKIRRI FOUNDATION:
BSB:062-577
ACCOUNT NO:10331158
Sharon Winsor Founder & managing Director of Indigiearth. In 1997 Sharon gave birth to her first child, a son, Ngukirri. Full term, Ngukirri was still born.
Ngukirri had a hole in his heart. Depression took hold of Sharon’s life and a life long journey of healing began. Sharon went on to have 2 more children, Kirralaa (meaning Star) and Maliyan (meaning Wedgetail Eagle). Over the course of the last 26 years, plans started taking place to establish a foundation in memory of Ngukirri, with a desire and passion to give back to community.
Our foundation will support Aboriginal women and families who have stillborn children. We will soon be releasing our culturally sensitive care pack that will be provided to parents during a time of hardship and unbelievable amount of pain and grief. Our Ngukirri care pack will include items to honour and cherish the small amount of time given with baby. Items that will provide a small amount of comfort during a very hard time.
Aboriginal women are 50% more likely than non Aboriginal women to have stillborn children. This is an alarming rate and we will do our best to help and support women during such horrific times.
A NOTE FROM SHARON
Thank you for taking the time to read.
Ngukirri, my first born, 26 years ago, the pain never leaves, doesn’t stop and doesn’t end. Healing will never be complete. Each year actually becomes harder. 26 years ago, still births were not spoken about much, and almost looked upon as a forbidden topic to discuss. The lack of support in the hospital was not great and we were almost shunned aside and totally removed. It was a very clinical and cold process for me.
Counselling support services were few and far between and done little to help me, actually nothing to help me. I then leaned on my cultural heritage and spirituality to offer some healing, to relieve the heartache to be able to get out of bed each day. During this time in my life, I had already started business 2 years prior, I had let it lay dormant for a little time as I could not even function from day to day. Needing my culture for some healing, I picked up the business in small doses, after some time I was able to start functioning more and more. Spiritual connection became stronger and I felt like I had some purpose again.
26 years later, I am still in business, rebranded about 11 years ago, left the city and headed to country and my healing continues through business. Business is more than a means of financial support for me and my children.
It strengthens my spiritual & cultural connection. Connects me to everything that is continued healing. Language, mother earth, dreamtime, dance, song and everything in between.
My heartache will never mend, the daily reminder that there is always one missing, always one missing out on our family adventures, and the one part of my heart and soul that went to the dreamtime with my baby.
Worldwide there were more than 1.9 million stillbirths according to data supplied by Unicef. Data shows that there are 13 stillbirths per
1000 births.
1 in 72 births result in a stillborn baby, or one every 17 seconds.
Still, this number may be an underestimate, as stillbirths are often underreported.
2021, In Australia 3,016 babies died in the perinatal period Three-quarters (2,278) were stillbirths and the remaining 738 were neonataldeaths.
Australia is one of the safest places in the world for a baby to be born, yet death occurring within the perinatal period (from 20 weeks of gestation to 28 days after birth) is not uncommon. On an average day in Australia, 6 babies are stillborn and 2 die within 28 days of birth (neonatal death).
Between 2013 and 2020, there were 109,308 babies born to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers and 1,682 perinatal deaths;
1,140 (68%) of these were stillbirths and 542 (32%) were neonatal deaths.
First Nation’s Women are 50% more likely to have a stillborn baby than any other race
