fleuresse’s Philippine distributor champions skin-to-skin parenting

North-Diamond teams up with Rotary to promote kangaroo mother care.

By: Kendrick Go

Good bedsheets and good parenting have at least two things in common: they provide comfort to the vulnerable and, in the Philippines, they are both championed by North-Diamond Consumer Goods Trading.

As the exclusive Philippine distributor of the high-end German bed linen brand fleuresse®—North-Diamond aims to be a major player in this country’s homes and its thrust towards this expanded just recently through its involvement with advocacy work. This year, the company began its endeavor to empower Filipino parents and it started this by promoting kangaroo mother care (KMC.)

Named after animals that are best known for carrying their young in pouches, KMC is a parenting technique that uses early and prolonged skin-to-skin contact between parents and newborns. It was initially recommended by the World Health Organization for preterm or low birthweight newborns. However, it is now generally seen as an adequate source of warmth, bonding, and proper development for recently born children. According to Veronica Jaegle, founding coach of North-Diamond, this is something that the company supports since it distributes fleuresse® and it understands how meaningful, high-quality skin contact can better lives. The company is also shaped by parents; Jaegle herself is a mother of a 4-year-old. Meanwhile, its owner, Jinkee Santos Sardalla and her husband Ariel Sardalla (who is also the company’s managing director) have a two-year-old. For North-Diamond, causes related to parenthood hit close to home.

To pursue the promotion of KMC, the company (based in Cavite) has partnered with various Rotary Clubs in the Philippines. It has taken part in the organization’s “RACabalikat: A Multi-District Conglomerate Projects to Welcome a New Rotary Year.” Through this undertaking—which had its first leg on July 1 to 2—North-Diamond, Rotary and other involved parties launched an extensive, multi-layered event that was conceived to better the lives of locals in Lobo, Batangas. It was divided into various segments and each segment focused on a specific issue faced by the community.

For their part, North-Diamond—led by the Sardallas—sponsored a segment called iLove. Through this initiative, the company called upon volunteers to introduce KMC and hold workshops for both parents and local caregivers who wish to improve their childcare skills. Other segments meanwhile, were iSight, iCare, iEducate, iEmbrace, iPlant, iEarn, iFilter and iPromote.

iSight was an eye care initiative that conducted vision screening, eyeglass distribution, and early cataract screening.

iCare, meanwhile, was done to enhance the healthcare facilities of Lobo through the donations of medical and first aid equipment.

iEducate on the other hand provided support for underprivileged learners.

iEmbrace was, meanwhile, conducted to promote cultural exchange and understanding; it brought together members of various cultural groups to exchange culinary ideas while preparing chicken pastil.

iPlant was done to conduct the planting of artificial reefs and fruit-bearing trees.

iEarn, meanwhile, offered skills training, entrepreneurial support, and income-generating opportunities to marginalized individuals and communities.

iFilter was executed to give the community access to clean and safe drinking water through the installation of a basic water filtration system.

And, finally, all of these were punctuated by iPromote, a segment made to oversee the launch of the RACabalikat Stone Marker which highlights Rotary’s commitment to the community of Lobo.

According to Jaegle, RACabalikat aligned with North-Diamond’s virtues as a company which is why they chose to be involved with it. This is also the reason why it aims to support the project’s second leg which will happen on a still undetermined date.

Founded in 2022, North-Diamond endeavors to be a premier supplier of high-quality homeware from Europe. fleuresse is the first brand it distributes. As a company, it wants to connect the world of home textiles to family life, and, withits recent advocacy, it hopes to prove that its commitment to that cause is anything but skin deep. its recent advocacy, it hopes to prove that its commitment to that cause is anything but skin deep.