In promoting the wellbeing and nourishment of infants, the Cook Islands Child Welfare Association (CICWA) has received a generous donation of cooking utensils from Te Marae Ora Ministry of Health.

This significant contribution aims to empower mothers by providing them with the tools and knowledge to prepare nutritious meals for their babies.

The wellbeing of infants is intricately linked to the quality of their nutrition during the critical early years of development.

Recognising the significance of this period, CICWA in partnership with Te Marea Ora has taken proactive steps to enhance infant nutrition.

At the presentation of the cooking utensils, Bob Williams, Secretary for Te Marae Ora, highlighted the importance of educating and supporting mothers in providing the best possible nutrition for their children

Williams said he had gladly accepted the request from CICWA asking for assistance to support their new initiative for their new mothers.

“New mums, babies and children are a very special population for Te Marae Ora … we will continue to help protect and preserve their health from birth to the first thousand days as they grow,” said Williams.

He said through the healthy cooking lessons programme, they look forward to seeing mums prepare healthy meals for their children.

“We support our new mums, especially our children.”

Rose Kairua, president of the Child Welfare Association, was grateful for the support from Te Marae Ora.

“We are thankful for the electric woks that will be a lot easier for the women to cart around their different clinics,” said Kairua.

The cooking lessons that will begin in the first week of May will also teach mothers how to make puree and freeze fresh baby food for their babies using natural produce.

This is the second phase of the Child Welfare Association project. The first phase was the partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture to plant and grow vegetable seeds – these will be harvested to teach families how to cook healthy meals.