Tag: baby/mother deaths in uganda

Heartbreak And Hopelessness

This week has been a great story week, Raelee has kept us and many readers of Facebook entertained. Today was no exception but with a sad reason.

Raelee went outside. Usually we hear her playing, if there are other kids she is screaming constantly. If there’s no kids she is usually singing at the top of her lungs or running around yelling “Elsa come back”. When all is quiet for 20 minutes I go looking. Today she was at the guardhouse with Sharifu. (He usually knows exactly where she is!) I see her shut the door of the guardhouse and then open it saying ” Well, that didn’t work” She goes in and comes out with a screaming baby. “Why is that baby here?” “He walked here” (he’s barely a year old). “Take him home” He lives next to us so she took him home but his mama wasn’t even there. Raelee left him with their neighbor. I asked her later what was the purpose of shutting him in the guardhouse and she explained she was laying him down for a nap. I told her that we, nor our guards are a babysitting service and the babies have to be taken home. There are two women, the neighbors who will come to get water and leave their babies. One of the women we have had that problem with her many times. He is always crying and our Dr says he is malnourished. We and others from the village have talked to them about the importance of feeding their baby. Now, she is pregnant again. Even though we got a laugh about her shutting the baby in the guardhouse trying to placate him, it is heartbreaking to hear babies cry all day and all night because they are hungry. And I’d like to feed them but that’s not teaching them to take care of their own. If we fed them once, we would be expected to feed the whole family everyday. If it were up to Raelee and I, we would keep the babies!

Over two million children in Uganda under the age of five are chronically malnourished. It is the cause of nearly 60% of infant deaths and 30% of the death of mothers.

Malnutrition is caused by vitamin and iron deficiency in their diets. It is extremely hard to understand when I look around this beautiful green country that people die from malnourishment. Our Doctor here told us that if the baby I described above could have one egg a day he wouldn’t be sick all the time. The family has chickens but I think they are kept and eggs probably sold for school fees, and/or less expensive but not as nutritious foods… I think a big part is not being educated about what is good for the babies. One mother has given Raelee the porridge that she (and others) feed their children. It is basically corn flour mixed with water – not big on nourishment. One of our workers who is also Vice-Chairman of the district is involved with a program that is trying to educate pregnant women and mothers about what it takes to keep their children healthy and clean. Educating them that getting dirty water out of a ditch does not constitute good hygene. Because the world you and I have been raised in has been so blessed, we take for granted and don’t realize there are people in this world have to be educated on the basic neccessities of everyday life. Granted, when you only have dirty water to wash in what else are you to do? And when your grandparents taught your parents in a time that there was rarely clean water, you are just doing what has been handed down. That is one reason The Mandate is so appreciated here is because of the bore holes (wells) that have been drilled every six months, bringing water to all parts of the village.

Christian and I have been researching and praying on what we can do as God’s hands and feet to reach out and make a difference that is lasting, that doesn’t make people dependent on us but to help them with dignity to be able to care for themselves and families. There is such poverty and struggle here that is it rare for community  to reach out to their neighbor because they are barely surviving. We have found a couple of groups in and around Kampala that have been overseeing projects such as our farming project and we have contacted them to ask their advice on the things that have worked or not worked for them. There are a few things that we see helping, with very little cost to us but great impact on the community. The key is training and teaching rather than giving freely. Giving would be much easier but wouldn’t help anyone in the long run. As the old phrase says

“Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch a fish, and you feed him for a lifetime”

That is a big problem with many organizations who want to help – and are honestly well meaning – but actually end up hurting because once the organization or the money is gone then people are more likely to be worse off than before.

We have found in our year here that what God is showing us is to walk with our community, have relationship with people and live out His truths. Be honest and have a realistic picture of what we can do and what we shouldn’t do – especially if we don’t have His leading in it. We came here with no experience and no personal vision on what to do to help, but as God leads us everyday, more of the picture of His plan develops before our eyes. We have seen so much gratefulness in the farmers with this project, even though we have made mistakes and have learned along the way;; even though these same farmers have grown crops before, getting the good seed and fertilizer has made a difference in their crops. We have seen one farmer who had the best harvest now looked to for advice on what he did to achieve that. We’ve had opportunity to pray with them and give testimony that everything we do is not of ourselves or our organization but because of God’s plan for this village.

The year has plenty of ups and downs, tears and laughter but we have grown through the many trials and joys. I don’t think we would change any of it even if we could, knowing this is where God put us and He has plans not only for the community but for us also. We joke at times that we feel we are actually here because of Raelee, but I don’t doubt it. The joy that she has brought to the people here, and the example of unconditional love she has shown for everyone has probably made more of an impact than anything Christian and I could do. She isn’t shy about making friends or telling about the love of Jesus and because of that many seeds are planted for a great harvest.

We don’t know what this next year will bring, I’m sure many more surprises, twists and turns! But I also know God will bring us through richer than when we started!

A Ministry I Support

I wanted to tell you about this ministry, Mercy For Mamas, that I came to know last month. They sponsored a dinner for missionary women to encourage and support all those women who are on the frontlines trying to help a few in a sea of so many in need. Their mission really touched my heart. I want to support them by buying their kits and also using them to help the women around me, with the hopes that in showing love and concern I can tell them about Jesus. Much of the information in this post is taken from their site, and I can attest to the love that is behind this ministry after meeting the woman that started it.

Statistics:

How many women die each year giving birth in Uganda?

  • On average more than 20 women die every day from pregnancy complications. (see)
  • According to UNICEF, 430 women of every 100,000 die from pregnancy or birth complications. That is 33 times the rate in the United States. In a woman’s lifetime, 1 in every 35 will die from a pregnancy/birth complication. And these statistics are estimated to be very low because so many births and deaths do not go reported in Uganda.

How many women have a skilled professional (nurse, trained midwife, doctor) assisting with their birth?

  • Only 41% of women give birth with any medical help.

This is where the Maama Kit comes in.

mama kit

A Mama Kits is an all-in-one kits that contains everything needed to help provide a clean and safe delivery.  In order to give birth in most hospitals or clinics in Uganda, you must purchase all of the necessary supplies and bring them with you.  If you do not have the supplies you will often be turned away.  Many of the women cannot buy the supplies, so they do not seek medical care, which often leads to complications and even death for the mothers and babies.  A simple gift of a $7 kit can allow the women to give birth in a hospital or clinic, or if they must give birth at home they have proper sterile supplies. Research has shown that the gift of a mama kit can greatly reduce the number of women dying during childbirth.

Here are the answers to a few of the most common questions:

What is in a mama kit?

  • Each mama kit contains plastic sheeting, razor blades, cotton wool (gauze pad), soap, gloves, cord ties, and a child health card.  Each kit also includes an instruction sheet in both English and Luganda.  All of the supplies are sealed so that they remain sterile until needed
  • What happens if a woman does not have a mama kit when she goes into labor?
    • If a woman does not have a mama kit when she arrives at a hospital or clinic, she is usually denied help or sent away. Some clinics do offer their own kits for people to purchase, but they cost about $20.

If the women cannot afford a mama kit, how can they afford the hospital?

  • In the major cities in Uganda there are government-operated clinics and hospitals that care for people free of charge, if they can afford to purchase the needed supplies.

The mama kits are purchased from a NGO in Uganda called PACE.  Each kit costs approximately $7.

  • We like the idea of supporting an organization in Uganda and contributing to their economy.  It would not be cost-efficient to make kits in the US and ship them.  Also, some of the supplies required by hospitals are not easily accessible there, like long rolls of cotton wool.

(visit http://www.mercyformamas.com for more info or to donate to them)

We were all given two kits to give out, and I gave one of my kits to Donny Lee to use when he is talking to Churches and groups in America. I am currently raising money to buy these kits to give out to women in our community. It is amazing to me, coming from America where we don’t think about all the little things we take for granted, that such a small amount of money can go so far to saving lives. Just $7 can mean life or death to a woman and baby. My friend went to the hospital here just to visit the labor and delivery ward, and she came back stunned. Dirty, unorganized, and understaffed. A woman gave birth to a tiny baby, and while the mid-wife was out of the room taking the baby to the NICU (such as it was) the lady delivered another baby, a twin, that just fell to the floor, face down. She hadn’t brought another sheet to wrap that baby because she didn’t know she was having twins. The mid-wife came back and rushed that baby to the NICU but because they only had one oxygen tent and there was already another baby in it, both babies died. Another woman died from infection after having a caesarian because they sewed her intestines up when they closed the incision, her baby most likely died because when the mother was brought in she was so sick she hadn’t been breastfeeding and the hospital wouldn’t give the baby formula because the director wasn’t there. It is a different world here, and hard to understand – hard to see it all around. That is why I feel so strongly about this ministry and the kits so that mother’s have a better chance of getting through the delivery.

The other thing I’ve seen that is really on my heart, and I am trying to see what I can do about it, is providing transportation for women wanting to plan their pregnancies with birth control. They get an injection every 3 months for free at the hospital, but don’t always have the funds for transportation there – $1.50. Then there is the calcium and iron they should take which comes to around $6 every three months. That’s a total of $40/year per person, not much for us but most times they can’t even afford the $4 to get to the hospital. And once the cycle of pregnancy and childbirth come, it keeps going, having 4-5 children and more one right after another. It’s the women who does most of the labor here, planting and harvesting, hauling water where there is clean water to haul, building the fires to cook porridge and beans if they are lucky with their crop. And all this while carrying baby on their back and the oldest child with a baby on their back (sometimes only 5 years old) and caring for the other children. Education isn’t free here, even the government schools, such as they are, have fees so when you have 5+ kids, it’s most likely none will go to school. It’s a rough life, and when I found out how little it takes to help them, Christian and I prayed and felt that our tithes each month would go to that and medical expenses for the children of our workers. We have 16 workers (not full time) and only 3 were on birth control by there own choice and money. So now, all the wives are on it and can plan when they want to have children. I would like to be able to extend this to more than our workers and I am praying for God to show me the way to help many, many women. I ask you to pray with me for all the women and children here, that through helping them, I can show them the love that Jesus has for them.

**I felt I should add – Christian and I are here as part of the organization The Mandate, and everything we do represents them. Part of our mission is to find these types of minstry and support them in any way we can. So when I say “I”, that is the “I” that is part of a bigger “Them”! At this time we are currently helping a school we support to finish their classrooms as dictated by the government – a post on that to come! Mandate is behind me on the above ministries and out there helping to raise funds for them. I just want to be clear on that!

**Edited on 12/15/15                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               If you would like to donate for either of the above please send to:  The Mandate, P.O. Box 6798, Shreveport, LA 71136. Make checks to “The Mandate”. One hundred percent of your donations go to these ministries. Thank you!