On Saturday 5 October 2002 the first ever "Worlds Greatest Pram Stroll" took place at Albert Park Lake, with perfect weather for a leisurely stroll. The Australian Breastfeeding Association was a proud partner with Parks Victoria in organising this event.

2500 people joined in the walk. The Australian Breastfeeding Association was heavily represented by lots of members. Some members had made a special effort and driven hundreds of kilometres from their homes in country Victoria to attend. Others loved the idea, but couldn't make it, instead they did the walk around their local lake. Some are now planning similar events in their area.

The 5km walk was led by former swimming world champion Linley Frame and her 14mth old daughter Isabelle. Afterwards people enjoyed their picnic or the free sausage sizzle provided by Fox Fm. Toddlers and kids had also been thought of with free giveaways, face painting and a jumping castle.

I got such a buzz out of the ABA community spirit that was showed by all. Everyone chipped in to ensure that things ran smoothly. Counsellors, trainees, community educators and ALL our MEMBERS. Some had never attended a meeting, or had any real contact with ABA before, apart from phone calls to our Helpline and reading the magazine Essence.

This was a different way of meeting some of you wonderful members, and it was also such a great media opportunity since both the Herald Sun and Fox FM were involved. I have never seen so many ABA t-shirts in the one place before. The sense of belonging and pride was very strong.

Often we tend to keep our membership to ourselves, and perhaps don't think to let other people know about the benefits of ABA. But here everyone was proudly flashing the ABA logo, networking and actively encouraging people to visit our stand, buy a red cookbook or to join (which 6 new mums chose to do - thanks to you, our enthusiastic members).

We were inundated with offers of assistance both before and on the day. We had volunteers in T-shirts guiding people around the lake, members were putting up posters, banners, display boards etc. some were taking photos and walking around in the crowd distributing 100s of show bags. Others helped out at our busy stand, or staffed the excellent change and feed facility.

There are to many to mention you all by name, but one person needs a special mention. Her name is Rina Healey, she is a mother of two, member and counsellor with the Ascot Vale group.

It is thanks to Rina that we got involved in this wonderful event.

Rina had a vision. She wanted to promote our wonderful association, but in a broader way than just as a breastfeeding support group. She also wanted the event to be one that would create lots of publicity, and an increased awareness in the community of who we are and what we do. She wanted to gain new members and involve current ones.

Rina presented her idea, as a "Healthy Babies, Healthy Parents, Pram Stroll" around Albert Park Lake to her local region, Westgate region.

I think at first a number of us felt a bit overwhelmed by the prospect, as far as we knew it had never been done before and the logistics of it was quite daunting. There were mumbles in the corners: "a lot of work, who is going to do it?" etc. But Rina was adamant it could be done and had answer to all our questions. A core group of interested volunteers was set up. Meetings were held, and Rina contacted Park Victoria to find out if we could use the park for it.

Big was our surprise when we found out that Parks Victoria was planning a similar event. We immediately jumped at the opportunity and joined up with Parks in making this a bigger and better event.

So many times over the past months I have heard Rina say: " I am committed to this"….or , "I am passionate about this"… Impossible has never been included in her vocabulary.

It is thanks to this commitment , passion and her fantastic organisation that we all had a great and memorable day on the 5th October.

Well done Rina, you never stopped smiling - and - you made your dream come true!

Next step is to ensure this becomes an annual event. I am sure this will be achieved, because with Rina around you learn that "Nothing is impossible"

Hopefully we will see you all again next year at Albert Park Lake

Until then - Happy walking in our wonderful Parks!

Thankyou
Jytte Ranjel