Operational Leadership
Coordinator - Sarah Numan
Committee -
Chairperson - Josie Apelu
Secretary - Jannelle Booth
Treasurer - Dot Booth
General Committee - Jennifer Pene, Te Rangahau Piripi
Memory Making Team - Sarah Numan, Josie Apelu, Neiko Numan, Brook Hainsworth, Dot Booth
Executive Members
Sarah Numan - Coordinator & Memory Making Specialist - Sarah founded Baby Loss NZ in April 2008 following the loss of her son, Noah James. Having experienced the loss of four babies herself, she understands firsthand the lifelong impact baby loss can have on a family. Following the deaths of her babies, she was not given any tangible memories to take home. That experience shaped the future of Baby Loss NZ and remains the driving force behind her passion for ensuring other families have the opportunity to create precious memories with their babies. As a trained Birth & Bereavement Doula, Sarah works directly alongside families and healthcare professionals, providing compassionate support and helping parents spend precious time with their babies while creating lasting memories. She is passionate about ensuring every family has the opportunity to parent, honour and remember their baby in a way that feels right for them. Over the years, she has had the privilege of supporting thousands of families and helping create tens of thousands of tangible memories. Her role encompasses leadership, advocacy, fundraising, education, service development and direct family support, with much of her time spent alongside families through our Active Parenting & Tangible Memory Making service. Sarah is the mother of nine children, including four angel babies – Hope-Dominique, Noah James, Willow and Ebony. Their lives continue to inspire her commitment to supporting bereaved families and improving bereavement care throughout New Zealand.
Josie Apelu - Chairperson & Memory Making Specialist - Josie joined the Baby Loss NZ Committee in 2010 and brings an unwavering passion for supporting bereaved families. While working full-time as a teacher at a local college, she regularly dedicates evenings, weekends and often entire nights to creating precious tangible memories for families experiencing the loss of a baby. A strong advocate for cultural awareness and cultural competency in bereavement care, Josie has presented her Pacifica workshop at the SANDS NZ National Conference, SANDS NZ National Training, and for TAHA (Wellbeing Pacific Mother & Infant Service) at their inaugural Māori and Pacific Maternal and Infant Forum. Josie holds a Graduate Diploma in Professional Supervision (Biculturalism in Practice) and a Master of Arts in Creative Arts Therapy with First Class Honours. Her knowledge, compassion and commitment help ensure Baby Loss NZ continues to provide culturally responsive and family-centred support. Josie is the proud mother of two living children and three angel babies, Bennett, Sage and Angel, whose memories continue to inspire her dedication to supporting other families.
Committee Members
Janelle Chambers - Secretary - As soon as I saw the opportunity to join the Baby Loss committee I jumped at the chance. In November 2020, My partner and I lost our twins, Eddie and Harlan due to premature birth. The Baby Loss Team were the shining light in our darkest time and it seemed right to be able to give back to this organisation so they can continue their good work.
Baby Loss NZ was an absolute godsend when my son and daughter-in-law lost their twin boys five years ago. As a grandmother, I was honestly in awe of what Baby Loss NZ offered. The castings of my grandsons’ hands and feet, the care box, and—most of all—the compassion and empathy shown to my son, my daughter-in-law, and me meant more than I can ever put into words. During such an incredibly painful time, we never felt alone. I will be forever grateful to Sarah and her amazing team for walking alongside our family when we needed it most. Now, it’s an absolute honour for me to volunteer with Baby Loss NZ.
I joined the committee to help in any way I can, to help bring awareness to Baby Loss. Meeting new families and getting to know them and hearing their stories of their own journey has been a pleasure. I’ve gotten to know many angel babies and reuniting castings home with their families has been a pleasure in many ways. I am always grateful for this beautiful organization
Te Rangahau Piripi - General Committee - In 2023 our whanau lost our beautiful baby boy Trace unexpectedly only 12 hours after he was born. Since picking up our baby’s castings from Sarah I felt a strong pull to the baby loss charity. Attending volunteer days, baby loss events and later joining the committee. This community has been a huge part of my healing journey. It has been an honour to walk alongside other whanau, holding space and bringing a bit of comfort.
Memory Making Team
Neiko Numan - Memory Making Team - Hey, I'm Neiko. I've been helping with Baby Loss NZ for as long as I can remember and am probably best known as the premium coffee maker at our volunteer days. Around four years ago, I began helping with the detailing and waxing of castings. Since then, my role has grown significantly and now includes supporting families through our Active Parenting & Tangible Memory Making service in hospital. To date, I have assisted with over 130 families. I still remember my first hospital visit and not knowing how I would feel about seeing the babies or interacting with families. Once I arrived, however, it felt surprisingly natural. Having grown up around Baby Loss NZ and seeing the difference memory making can make for families, I understood how important this work is. It is a privilege to be part of the service our charity provides and to help create precious memories that families can treasure forever.
Brooke Hainsworth - Memory Making Team -Hi, I'm Brooke, I first learned about Baby Loss while working on a theatre production with Sarah, and from that moment I felt drawn to the organisation and its purpose. I believe being part of Baby Loss is an incredible privilege. After more than a year of emotional preparation, I decided I wanted to start training and become involved. I am a mother of four children earthside and work with children with special needs in my day-to-day life. Having experienced the loss of angels myself, Baby Loss became a way for me to heal while helping ensure that every baby and child is remembered forever and treated with the love, dignity, and respect they deserve. To date, I have had the honour of meeting around 23 babies and have been fortunate enough to attend nine hospital call-outs on my own. During such a heartbreaking time for families, being able to provide a meaningful and compassionate service, while meeting these beautiful little souls, is truly special and something I am deeply grateful to be a part of.
Branch Members
Leonie Mcpherson - Tokoroa to Thames - Leonie had been supporting bereaved families since 2006 when she joined our team in 2013. Having had 10 pregnancies with 3 living children, her journey includes having to make the heartbreaking choice of interrupting 2 of her pregnancies. Leonie supports families from Tokoroa through to Thames.
Emma Hawkins - Christchurch - My name is Emma Hawkins . I am originally from the UK and moved here in 2004. I am the Volunteer caster for Christchurch and have been with Baby Loss NZ for just over 4 yrs. I often get asked "why do you work for BLNZ" - my why started 20 years ago but I am still reminded of my journey everyday. My husband and I lost 8 babies to miscarriage before anyone looked into why it kept happening. Every loss at any stage of life leaves scars on your heart and I know, and feel the pain it causes . I truly believe in being able to provide a tactile tangible memory to acknowledge the life lost, and to comfort the parents, caregivers and friends . My why is because I do not wish the pain loss causes on anyone . I believe and hope the service I am privileged to be a part of, helps and comforts in some small way by providing casts of little hands and feet to keep forever.