Let's open a maternity ward!

Here is the email regarding my village's soon-to-be maternity ward. Most of the people reading my blog have probably already seen this, but if not, read on! Hopefully I have not shared this information too early; I'm hopeful they will approve the grant and we will be collecting donations in no time!

Hello, everyone!

I am currently a Peace Corps Volunteer in a small village in the Grand North of Cameroon, Africa. There are about 1,000 people in the village of Tourningal. Or, because I know some of you prefer exact numbers, there were 1,068 the day I walked around and counted everyone. There is no electricity or running water in village, but we manage (as they like to say). The majority of the residents are Muslim and are extremely welcoming and kind. There are some Christians in village; they make up about 10% of the population. Most of the villagers work as farmers and cow herders, raking in a small income to sustain their large families.

I have included all of you on this email because you have helped me get to where I am today and to become the person I am. It is a little backwards that I am asking for your help, instead of me returning the favor for all you’ve done. While I am the one asking for your support, I am asking on behalf of my village, which will be extremely gracious when they receive the funds to open a maternity ward. I will be sure they know who has helped them accomplish their goal.

I have just applied for a partnership grant through Peace Corps. If approved, I will post a link online and email it to you. You can donate any funds you want to, or are able to. I know some of you are going through school, have new babies, new homes, and other expenses to take care of. I don’t know what the rules are on a minimum donation, but, truly, every dollar will help. And, if it doesn’t work right now, I definitely understand. There is no pressure, I simply wanted to share the news and give you all a heads up well before so you knew what was coming.

We are trying to raise $9,687 to finish the interior of a new building in village. This building was constructed a couple years ago and has been standing empty since. It is designated to become a maternity ward, situated a few yards away from the current Health Center in village. We will also be purchasing all the equipment and materials needed to furnish a maternity and get it up and running. It is a large sum of money for the States; imagine how far it can go here in Cameroon. My village is situated a few hours away from the city, so we will have to pay for the transport of everything from the city. The Health Center staff, along with certain villagers, will be doing the set up of the maternity on their own time. The only labor included in the sum of money is to pay the construction workers to finish the interior in order for it to be ready and welcoming for women in village. (I have the specific budget breakdown if anyone wants to see it!)

There are many women in village who choose to give birth at home because the current birthing room in the current Health Center is extremely outdated, unsanitary, and unpleasant. At-home births mean no trained health worker and increased risk of injury or death of the mom or newborn. The most recent example of this is one woman gave birth at home to a small baby boy, Adamou. She passed away a few hours after giving birth, leaving multiple children behind. There were no trained health staff present and the family still is unsure exactly what happened. Because of tradition (women are the ones to raise the children) and the fact that the father works in another part of the country, the baby has been passed around to various families in village, and nearby villages, depending on who is able to take care of him at the moment. He is surviving but not thriving; he is extremely underweight. This is just one example of what happens when complications arise during at-home births. When women do come to the Health Center, they have a lack of privacy and often are in shared rooms with multiple sick beds before and after the delivery. There is only one old delivery bed in a small room for women in labor. Despite all this, some women are able and willing to come to the Health Center for delivery, but more women would be inclined to make the trip to the Health Center if they had more privacy and nicer facilities. Twice in my first few months at village there were two women in labor at the same time. One had to wait in the shared sick room while the other gave birth and the Health Center staff and family cleaned up the room.

The goal with this project is to provide facilities the women and babies in village deserve. We will encourage women to come to the Maternity for prenatal visits and for giving birth, therefore, working to decrease the maternal and infant mortality rate in village. I will email you all when I have the information needed to donate, when the project is approved (hopefully). If it is not approved, then I will go from there and see what we can do. So, for now let’s hope we will be able to raise the money and get this maternity open for use in the next few months.

If you want to read some stories or see pictures of my village you can look at my blog, moincameroon.blogspot.com. I sometimes struggle to keep it updated, but I do try to maintain it.

I have attached three photos. 1) The new Maternity building, next to current Health Center. 2) Current delivery room. You will notice a sink but there is no running water, and no floor drain, so when cleaning fluids up they have to sweep it through the hallway to dump it outside. 3) Baby Adamou on my lap, wrapped in many layers, so you can’t see how little he is.

Thank you for reading this long email and for all you guys have done for me in my life. You have all had some impact on me that has lasted until now, and even if we haven’t talked recently, know that I still appreciate you and thank you for everything.

I will keep you updated! And, please pass this along to anyone you think may be interested in helping out, or to any businesses who need a worthy project to donate to!

Maureen Bjerke