Improving the World, One Diaper at a Time

Diapers, diapers everywhere, but not a-one that stinks. Thanks to a group of about 50 volunteers in Washington State, 360 cloth diapers were recently sewn up and shipped off to Guatemala with the intent of improving the health of mothers and babies through education and better hygiene.

Diapers, diapers everywhere, but not a-one that stinks. Thanks to a group of about 50 volunteers in Washington State, 360 cloth diapers were recently sewn up and shipped off to Guatemala with the intent of improving the health of mothers and babies through education and better hygiene.

Certified nursing assistant Beverly Carter of Everett, Wash. (Everett 4th Ward), headed up the Diapers for Babies project. It began after she saw pictures that her boss, Dr. Frank Andersen, brought back from his mission-trip to Guatemala of children in brightly colored cloth diapers. Andersen, the division chief of Women and Children’s Services at Providence Regional Medical Center, explained to Carter that cloth diapers are crucial in the Guatemalan villages because disposable diapers are neither widely available nor practical.

“I could not believe how fortunate we are in America,” Carter says. “[If] we need diapers, we run to the store. [If] we need a doctor, we go. Anytime, and in many cases, … day or night.”

With the help of her ward Relief Society and Boy Scouts, as well as friends like Cheryl Rodes of East Wenatchee, Wash., who helped create the unique diaper pattern, Carter was able to present a whopping 360 cloth diapers to Andersen and his team of medical volunteers to take with them on their annual mission-trip in July. Other wards that helped include the Eastmont, Columbia Hills and Rocky Reach wards.

“I wanted to make enough so that many mothers could get at least three to take home from the clinic,” Carter says. “With what we did, one hundred twenty Mothers will receive diapers. That is one hundred twenty children that may not get ill this year because of better hygiene.”

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Carter explained that mothers and babies get sick without cloth diapers because without them, infants don’t wear diapers at all. “Babies are left naked and excrete on their mothers all day,” Carter says. “By teaching the mothers to keep their children diapered, there is less infection [and fewer] flies and insects that can cause diseases.”

Each diaper, which is made with a flannel outer layer and lined with washcloths or other absorbent material, takes about an hour to make, according to Carter. Instead of pins, the diapers are made with ties that allow the diaper to grow along with the baby.

Along with friends and ward members in Washington, Carter has received over 100 e-mails from women around the world wanting to help make diapers. People in Oregon, Arkansas and the East Coast have learned the pattern and begun their own efforts.

“It has made me realize that we are strong willed women who can make a difference in this world in spite of all the negative out there,” Carter says. “If all of those women make diapers for a year, we will send them to other areas. This could start a diaper revolution for the world, who knows.”

For more information, contact Beverly Carter at sixwilldo@aol.com.