Jo, Adam and Christey
provided maternity health care for mothers and babies in a South African village!
Jo, Adam and Christey raised $1,528
This paid for 27 pregnant women and 16 new mothers and babies to receive:
Bi-monthly home visits from community health workers
Pre-/post-natal health and nutrition information packs
Community group health sessions
Transport to clinics to attend antenatal and post-natal classes
Jo, Adam & Christey's motivation
Jo, Christey and Adam are 3 old high school mates from Christchurch, NZ, who are also founding members of Just Peoples. Another thing we have in common is maternity. Jo – a new mother, Adam – an excited father-to-be, and Christey – pregnant!
Through our maternal and paternal journeys we’ve come to realise how lucky we are to have access to affordable (and free!), quality maternity health care which is essential for caring for mother and bub before and after pregnancy. So we decided to raise money for Lihle to support new and expectant mothers in isolated villages in South Africa, so all they need to worry about it what to call him/her!
JO, ADAM & CHRISTEY'S Feedback
Little Zodwa was born safely and is a happy and healthy girl, being solely breastfed by her mother whose maternity care you supported!
Jo Adam & Christey received this letter from a community health worker about her experience working on the project they funded
A community health nurse working with two pregnant women
Lihle's team of volunteers received additional training from hospital medical staff
The team were then able to support the new and expectant mothers as they receive healthcare at the local clinic.
Lihle's story
Nkanini, South Africa
Lihle, a local woman from the small African community of Nkanini, has a big heart and a big vision. Already running a centre for orphaned children, Lihle and her 7 volunteers also work tirelessly trying to minimise the level of infant mortality and malnutrition in their community.
With many children dying before the age of 2, there is an urgent need for improved maternal healthcare in this community. Lihle knows that the best way for this to happen is for mothers to be better educated on pre and post natal care.
From her work with children in the community, Lihle experiences first-hand the serious developmental effects that malnutrition has on children and knows that it starts right at the beginning during pregnancy.
In 2006, Lihle started providing free information to expecting and current mothers about baby and child health and nutrition. As interest grew, Lihle and her 7 volunteers began offering home visits and group classes to expecting and current mothers in hope that more mothers will recognise the importance of not only preparing for birth, but also post-natal care, immunisation and breastfeeding.
Unfortunately, there is always a cost in providing support services. As the majority of the community is without transportation and those most in need cannot afford to travel, Lihle and her volunteers must go to them. There is also increasing costs in producing health and nutrition information packs for new and expectant mothers.
Lihle can already see the positive effects that these services are having on her community. More women are being checked by a doctor during pregnancy, and more newborns are being brought into the local clinic for regular health checks.
Because of the high demand of her support services, Lihle has a goal that in the future she can educate larger numbers by collaborating with health facilities.
$1,528 enabled Lihle and her team to continue to provide these essential services to all who require them, and to reach wider areas of the community, for another full year.