Reproductive Health Sudan Project #4016

Healthcare to Save Mothers and Babies

by Kids for Kids

Project Report | Aug 5, 2021
The Covid Crisis Continues to Grip Darfur

By Lily Campbell | Fundraiser and Outreach Coordinator

The lack of healthcare in Darfur, Sudan is a constant threat, especially to children and pregnant mothers. The most vulnerable members of these communities are the ones that suffer the most when a crisis hits. In the villages of North Darfur there is no health care. If you cannot get to the regional capital El Fasher where there is a hospital then you go to Mallit - often many miles across the sand. When our Founder, Patricia Parker OBE, visited Mallit Hospital last year she was shocked to see that conditions had not improved since she had last been able to visit, over ten years before. There is still no oxygen and no ventilators - essentials for anyone suffering the worst effects of Covid-19. The photograph is of the doctor in the hospital showing her only pair of stethoscopes - badly damaged.

There are no vaccinations for anyone in villages and Covid is in its third wave in Sudan. That is why your help has been so crucial, not just in providing the soap urgently needed for washing hands but that small contribution to us, gives hope to mothers who have felt helpless as the 'mystery disease' has taken friend after friend.

In the UK, we've had nearly a year of lockdown - the virus is relentless, but the introduction of mass vaccinations has helped ease the pressure and death rate. In Darfur, there is no NHS that will support these communities in fighting the endless battle against Covid 19. The people of Darfur rely on their midwives and first-aid workers to educate them on how to stay safe. Miles away from any hospital and next to no access to medicines or medical equipment, these villages have been left behind to fight the pandemic on their own.

Our Midwives and First-Aid workers play an enormous role in fighting the pandemic, they help villagers tackle the enormous challenges of addressing the health impact of Covid-19. They are trained in Sudan to help their communities and prevent the spread of the virus even more.

Without the support of Kids for Kids and our donations to the cause, these Midwives and First-Aid workers wouldn't be able to train. It costs Kids for Kids £400 to train a First-Aid worker, these members of the community prevent a minor problem from becoming a catastrophe.

Our support staff can educate and inform villages about the importance of washing hands often to prevent the spread, and about maintaining distance. As the First-Aid workers are part of the villages, they are there to offer full-time support to those in need.

Support a village today in providing what is so desperately needed during this pandemic. The support of a First-aid worker or Midwife can change the lives of the vulnerable during this pandemic - help today and save lives.

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Apr 8, 2021
Midwives fight Covid-19 in Darfur, Sudan.

By Anna Sambrook | Fundraising and Outreach Coordinator

Midwife Sumya

The situation in Sudan is still desperate. Inflation is still soaring and is now at an all-time high of over 350%. Life is hard for the people in Darfur, as food prices continue to soar so does the level of hunger - our help has never been needed more. To add to this, Covid-19 is still ravaging the country.

Village Midwives and First-Aid workers that have been trained thanks to you, our loyal and generous donors, are on the frontline helping to tackle the virus and the challenges it brings to each community.

Kids for Kids Project Officer Hassan Mehisi says 'The situation in many villages is very hard and life is difficult. Our Midwives and First-Aid workers play an enormous role in fighting the pandemic, they help villagers tackle the enormous challenges of addressing the health impact of Covid-19'.

Our Midwives and First-Aid workers are delivering babies and providing support despite the threat of Covid-19 - helping to provide advice and educate new mothers and their families on how to protect themselves - there is no access to healthcare in villages - the Midwives and First-Aid workers we train are very much pioneers doing a fantastic job miles away from any support or hospital.

You can support mothers and babies by helping to train more Midwives and First-Aid workers - these are the Florence Nightingales of Darfur - a beacon of light and comfort in the most desperate of times.

It costs Kids for Kids $2,700 to train a Village Midwife and to provide her with a smart white tobe (sari uniform) and leather sandals. Incidentally, leather sandals are a status symbol in Darfur! If you would like to contribute to the training of a Village Midwife please donate the amount you choose and we will add it to our Midwife Fund. We also fund the equipment for both our Village Midwives and First Aid Workers, plus a fast and strong crossbred donkey so they can travel more easily between the villages. It is important too to make sure there is a solar lantern so that mothers will not give birth by the flickering light of a fire. There is no electricity in villages.

Will you help us bring healthcare in the form of Village Midwives and First Aid Workers to the many villages that are in need?

Your donation today will help save lives!

Newly trained first aid worker.

Midwives in training.

Links:

Why midwives are need in Darfur.

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Dec 17, 2020
Comfort for New Mothers in Darfur

By Anna Sambrook | Fundraising and Outreach Coordinator

Happy mother with healthy baby.

2020 has been a hard year for everyone and I'm sure we are all ready to see the back of it!

However, spare a thought for the people of Darfur. Along with Covid-19 arriving in the villages, North Darfur has suffered droughts, floods, increases in diseases such as malaria and the whole of Sudan is in the midst of an economic crisis. Inflation has reached 229% in November meaning that families are struggling to afford the most basic items to keep their families healthy and fed.

Imagine expecting a child during this time, imagine bringing a child into the world and worrying about having no access to healthcare. These are worrying times for expectant mothers and Kids for Kids understands this and is why we support villages by training at least 2 midwives in each village to comfort and support new mothers during and after giving birth.

Despite all the chaos that seems to have arrived in Darfur, because of generous supporters like you, this year alone there are 40 newly qualified midwives heading back to their home villages to provide proper medical assistance to expectant mothers. This is something that women have been asking for for so long. Childbirth is dangerous wherever you are, but in Darfur often the only help has been an untrained Traditional Birth Attender. Many mothers and babies have died because of this.

Our Kids for Kids' midwives bring hope, relief and help to deliver babies healthily and safely. One of the most important things they are able to do too is to recognise when a birth cannot be by natural means and a Caesar is needed. Convincing a young woman to leave her home and travel - by donkey - to a hospital can be challenging, but this professional advice saves many lives.

Our team in Darfur passed on the incredible news that our midwives have delivered 94 precious babies in November all happy and healthy.

At a time when people are unsure of the future, it is important that we take a step back and appreciate the good work and positivity that we can achieve when we all come together.

Because of people like you, these babies have a better start in life and mothers can rest comfortably in the knowledge that they are safe in the hands of trained midwives.

But there are still many villages and mothers who need our help in 2021 - let's make next year a better one for more mothers and their babies in Darfur.

Midwife Asma

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