We are delighted with the win yesterday at the Animate Awards 2017 for our Traveller Maternal Health Initiative.
This initiative, based in North Dublin, seeks to bridge the gap between Traveller women’s engagement with mainstream antenatal education and the maternity services.
“The current mainstream approach to maternal health in Ireland is not accessible to Traveller women and their babies,” says Mary Brigid Collins, Asst Co-Ordinator Pavee Point Traveller Primary Health Care Project.
“Traveller women using the maternal services are not actually getting the proper information that they need.”
Working from a Community Development approach and using peer-led support, the initiative will develop practical, accessible and culturally appropriate resource material to empower and equip Traveller women with vital information in relation to antenatal, intrapartum, postnatal and infant health.
This initiative will be piloted through the Eastern Regional Traveller Health Network (ERTHN) which covers the greater Dublin area, Wicklow and Kildare to followed by a national rollout.
Animate 2017 is a €220,000 fund that provides grants and supports to early-stage projects and organisations that have come up with clever ideas to address health and social issues in their community.
From 145 applications, 10 projects were selected for this award including TRTP Young Travellers Programme.
Animate 2017 is a partnership between Social Innovation Fund Ireland, Medtronic and the Dept of Rural and Community Development through the Dormant Accounts Fund. Further information: http://www.socialinnovation.ie/animate-2017/
Further information: http://www.socialinnovation.ie/animate-2017/