My best friend Claire and I started Mother Missionary together after I came out of a very dark time postpartum.
At the very bottom of my grief, this Charity was the light that shone through.
Despite being as prepared as one could possibly be to enter motherhood, my family and I suffered relentless hardship.
I was ravaged by extreme sleep deprivation, suffered unending isolation, and later a miscarriage.
Ashleigh’s Story
We experienced some harrowing times digging so deep with no reprieve or support available, and other times where the selfless acts of strangers, friends and family got us through.
It had me tapping into a deep unmet need many mothers have today for a village - a network of selfless giving & receiving. The very foundation that provides the nourishment, connection & support necessary to do our roles well, and with joy. Something that the Western World has largely lost.
It has been wrongly ingrained in us that we should be able to do it all on our own without any help, which just isn’t possible. We live in a survival-based world where the village has disintegrated, and individualism normalized. It has come at a great cost to mothers and the family unit as a whole.
We started Mother Missionary to plant seeds of village amongst our local community which I know will one day sprout because it is true - one selfless act truly does spark another. We are seeing it unfold before our very eyes.
As we started up this charity, I asked myself;
“What are we spending that isn’t really serving our family, and could be better serving someone else right now?”
And with that, I cancelled a $20 p/m subscription I had barely used in years, had a garage sale, and started shopping at ALDI to save money on our weekly groceries - all of which now go to this cause!
We are mostly self-funded, but as we expand are in need of donations to support running costs, expanding impact, and bigger acts of service!
Since I was little I always wanted to be a Mum. When my time came I felt incredibly grateful, and I was also shocked by just how much support I needed to do this role well.
Our family was certainly very blessed in the support we received as we found our feet as new parents, and still, there were times when the gaps in our village were felt, and I had to dig deep to try and fill them.
Claire’s Story
Growing up I sadly had some harrowing experiences that made me lose faith in the idea of a healthy “village”. Through this I learned that a healthy village is a crucial foundation of our wellbeing as humans, and negative experiences in this area can be deeply impactful.
I also learned that one of the most powerful ways to heal relational wounds is by gently re-weaving these broken threads of village in ways that genuinely serve everyone.
Through this process, a fire has been lit in my heart that fuels me to do my best to be the kind of villager that I needed.
Becoming a mother has been the ultimate training and healing ground.
As I tended more intentionally to the threads of community accessible to me, my internal orientation gradually moved from “me” to “we” and the results on my family’s wellbeing have been incredible.
It takes time and care for true villages to form, and ours is still forming.
It is our hope that the acts of kindness we offer through Mother Missionary will help families to feel more held and connected as they meet the joys and challenges of modern parenthood.
Will you join us on our Mission?
There are a number of ways you can get involved.
a mother or family to be a recipient of our selfless acts of kindness
to help fund our acts of service, running costs, and spreading the word
express your interest in becoming a Villager! (volunteer)