By Risha Rohera
Contributing Writer
Every year, more than 1 million babies die due to prematurity. A new club on campus helps raise funds for these newborn babies and their families.
Sophomores Sejal Asher and Sara Lensing started the Premature Baby Protection Club in November of 2011. Many teenagers are dismissive unaware of the issue of premature babies, so the two created a way to let people know about this problem.
Asher was inspired by her mother, Sarita Asher, an occupational therapist who works with premature babies at Miller Children’s Hospital in Long Beach. Some of the parents of the babies she works with do not have enough money to pay for fundamental items.
“I was volunteering at my mom’s work fundraiser, and I realized there were no kids my age there,” Asher said. “I thought that it would be good to spread awareness of this issue to high schoolers.”
Club meetings are used to discuss different ways to help out and fund-raise for these babies and their families. Some of the events that have been planned include a blanket drive, a garage sale at the end of this month and sponsorship for a child at the Miller Children’s Hospital.
“This club has opened my heart to helping more in the community,” sophomore and member Victoria Noble said. “I’m really excited for the upcoming events.”
Being born prematurely means that one is born at least three weeks before the due date. Nationaly, one in every eight babies is born prematurely.
“We established this club because we want to help babies like my cousin, who are born prematurely, survive and have happy lives,” Lensing said.
Premature babies are born with certain abnormal challenges. Because they are premature, their respiratory systems are not fully developed, leading to breathing problems or even death.
“I’m aware because I have a friend who was born one month prematurely,” freshman Laila Reimanis said. “She has severe ear damage, and she’s gone through so many surgeries, but there’s nothing that can increase her hearing to normal.”
The Premature Baby Protection Club meets in Zamira Skalkottas’ class on Wednesdays at lunch in room 33. It is a relatively new club with 10 members, but it is hoping to increase in size by the end of the year. The club is open to anyone who is interested in helping out or finding out more about this issue.
“If you don’t tackle the issue up front and help them from the start, the babies will have life-lasting issues,” Asher said.
Leave a Reply