Mandi Kuran: creating a community of Jewish mothers

You founded the Jewish Mums & Bubs Melbourne (JMABS) Facebook group in 2017. How did it all begin?

My daughter was two at the time I started JMABS, and she's just about to turn nine. I got the idea from a friend who’s Greek. She started a group years ago called GMABS – Greek Mums and Bubs Melbourne. She always said that I should start one for the Jewish community.

I was invited into her group to see how it ran. The Greeks and the Jews are quite similar in terms of their culture, focus on charity and importance of having a lot of support. It can sometimes be hard to find a village as a new parent, so I decided that I would give it a go.

My first post was a live video about why I started the group, inviting all young mums to join. Slowly, over time, it's evolved into mother’s groups, fundraising events and promotion of businesses. People tell me all the time that they've made lifelong friends from JMABS, and their kids are friends too, which is so lovely.

Are there any rules to joining JMABS?

I am very adamant that I don't let people in who don't have young children. Growing up with a Jewish mum, they “always know best” – the nannas, bubbes and saftas always have an opinion – and sometimes you just want to get advice from people your own age who are going through the same thing in this generation. I've had a lot of bubbes be declined membership. It’s very structured, but has still managed to grow to include people from all over the community, with different backgrounds and beliefs, which is amazing.