You never know when life takes an unexpected turn. Today was like any other day, except I met Fiona Kirk, 2016 ACT Local Hero Nominee, founder of Angel Gowns Australia and an incredibly smart and inspirational woman. It is humbling that Fiona approached Oz Fair Trade to be a part of her new project, My Teeny Tiny Sibling.

Similar to Fiona’s previous charitable work, My Teeny Tiny Sibling is also about children and families faced with challenging times.

The first book is for siblings of premature babies and their journey to bringing them home.

The second is for siblings and how to cope if their tiny baby brother or sister dies after fighting so hard in the NICU and the complications a tiny premature baby faces.

I hope my books will help with so many scary things that young children face with premature siblings.

Fiona brought a draft version of the first book and a doll that she has hand knitted. The doll can serve multiple purposes:

• to help siblings of premature babies to gain a connection with the babies before they are well enough to leave hospital;
• to help grieving parents who have lost premature babies;
• to be a keepsake for parents who have looked after premature babies;
• etc.

I held the doll in my arms and it felt incredibly soft and warm. Fiona explained to me how she designed the doll; how the head is heavy so the neck must be supported at all times; and how the weight of the doll can be changed over time to match the growth of the baby. Every aspect is so well designed and I could sense that strong love Fiona has towards children.

Fiona explained that once the project takes off she may not have the capacity to meet the demand for dolls. She wanted the dolls to be made in an ethical way, and fair trade is an obvious choice. This is how Oz Fair Trade can help. Through our existing relationships with numerous fair trade organisations around the world, we may be able to find a community or a number of communities that can benefit from making these beautiful dolls.

To make a positive difference is Fiona’s dream. This is also my dream.

So I am very excited about this project, and what it can achieve.