Rose and her husband work hard to provide for their family. With a new child on the way, they have been doing what they can to prepare, including attending the maternal health program at Lwala Community Alliance. Rose has been experiencing lower abdominal pain, exacerbated by strenuous work such as farming the family plot. She wants nothing more than a healthy family, and this $215 will provide the crucial medical care an expectant mother needs to deliver a healthy baby. The money raised here will cover Rose’s antenatal care, a hospital delivery and post-birth checkup for mom and baby. Due any day now, Rose wants to give her new baby the best chance at being healthy.

Dorine is 28 and about to give birth! She lives with her husband and children in rural Kenya where they farm and run a family business selling beans, tomatoes, dried fish and other items. Like all mothers, Dorine desperately wants to give her baby the best possible start in life by continuing to visit the hospital in the lead up to the birth and afterwards. However, with so many mouths to feed, health care for her and her unborn baby is prohibitively expensive. With just $215 from Watsi supporters Lwala Community Alliance cam provide Dorine with prenatal health care; community health worker home visits for training on nutrition, pregnancy risk factors and micro-savings in preparation for the baby; delivery at Lwala Community Hospital and a postnatal check-up for Dorine and her baby.

Mariam is a sweet 6 year-old girl suffering from a bone infection in her upper arm. Osteomyelitis is painful and causes stiffness of the joint and affected area. Mariam has been suffering from osteomyelitis of the upper arm for 4 months. Before getting sick, Mariam loved playing with her younger brother and sister. She would often help her mom around the house while her father worked the farm. Her father grows corn, beans and teff (the grain that is used to make injera, the traditional Ethiopian bread). Africa Mission Healthcare Foundation can treat Mariam’s condition. The surgery is expected to give Mariam function of her arm again. Mariam is looking forward to starting school next year, lets help her get there by giving her full-use of her arm again.

Ruth is pregnant with her first child. At only 16, she’s had to leave school temporarily to have her baby. Ruth hopes to deliver safely and recover fully so she can go back to school and be a healthy mom to her baby. Watsi Medical Partner, Lwala Community Alliance, submitted Ruth for funding to cover the cost of her safe delivery. The $215 includes prenatal care, education on nutrition and risk factors, birth in the hospital, and a post-natal checkup for Ruth and her baby. Reproductive health is the leading cause of death among women 15-44 worldwide. 99% of all maternal mortality occurs in the developing world, and 90% of these deaths are preventable. 1 in every 39 women in Sub-Saharan Africa is likely to die during childbirth. 15% of all pregnancies result in a potentially fatal complication during labor or delivery, and women in the developing world rarely have access to emergency medical care. -- Ruth answered the questions below in an interview with Watsi's Coordinator at Lwala. -- When is the baby due? -May 4th Any complications or hardship (challenges)? -I was in form 2 (sophomore year) and I had to leave due to my pregnancy. How many children already? -0 What does your family do to earn income? -I stay at home with my mother, she is a farmer. My father does not live with us, he stays in Nairobi. What have you learned in the maternal health program? -This is my first pregnancy, so I learned how to prepare for a baby and to save small amounts of money. They also taught me the importance of ANC (antenatal care) visits. What do you hope/pray for? -I hope to have a healthy baby delivered safely at the Lwala Hospital. I also hope to return to school and that there is money for my child to attend school too.

Esther is a 24-year-old woman with pre-cancerous lesions on her cervix. If left untreated, these lesions could turn into full-blown, untreatable cervical cancer. Fortunately, Esther’s doctors are confident that by removing the pre-cancerous lesions they can “eliminate the risk of future spread of cancer.” When Esther was 12 and in her last year of primary school, she got pregnant. She dropped out of school to raise her daughter, marking the end of her education. Esther is now married with four children. Because of her lack of education, she can only work odd jobs. Her husband makes a modest income working on a farm. Esther was first diagnosed with cervical dysplasia at 20, but she and her husband were unable to raise the money required to have her condition treated. Esther loves her children and she wants to get healthy so she can give them the kind of life she wishes she had. We want to fund her treatment so she has the chance to do it.