Featured author, Majuka Ololkeri of Femina HIP shares a success story all the way from the Southern tip of Tanzania, Mtwara. While collecting information for our magazines, we travel in many regions of Tanzania. During one of such safaris met a group of villagers who initiated a special fund to enable pregnant women to be transported to a hospital, very far from their village.I loved their initiative. They call it a referral fund for safe delivery. These people do care for mothers and babies in a special way.Residents of Mikuyu Village, Tandahimba, Mtwara Region have shown an example to be emulated by starting up the fund after a save motherhood training by AMREF in 2010. They were so touched that they decided to use available resources to save mothers.Four men and four women took the first step to come together and then talked other villagers into contributing as well. Each one had to contribute 1,000/= every time they harvested cashew nuts, in December.So far they have managed to save the lives of five women who were in critical condition after failing to deliver their babies at home. They used the money collected to hire a motorcycle (bodaboda) and rushed them to the Tandahimba District Hospital, 25km away where they delivered safely. They told me that five children have also been saved after developing high fever due to malaria. They were also rushed to Tandahimba.People believe in this fund after seeing its benefits and now they have plans to buy a tricycle for easier transportation of patients. In Tandahimba, this group is saving mothers and babies, other communities should copy this initiative.In the pictures, from top:-Group members with me (seated, holding a pen and notebook) at Mikuyu village, Tandahimba. Seated next to me, on my left is Femina HIP driver Venance Mapunda-Zuhura Mkalavachi with her daughter Asha, who was delivered safely through the assistance of the village fund.-Musa Hassan Naweka the motorcyclist the only bodaboda owner in Mikuyu who is always on standby to transport pregnant women to the hospital, in case of an emergencyGuest Blogger: Majuka Ololkeri is the Editor of Si Mchezo Magazine from Femina HIP, a multimedia platform working with in school age and out-of-school youth in Tanzania.
Featured author, Majuka Ololkeri of Femina HIP shares a success story all the way from the Southern tip of Tanzania, Mtwara. While collecting information for our magazines, we travel in many regions of Tanzania. During one of such safaris met a group of villagers who initiated a special fund to enable pregnant women to be transported to a hospital, very far from their village.I loved their initiative. They call it a referral fund for safe delivery. These people do care for mothers and babies in a special way.Residents of Mikuyu Village, Tandahimba, Mtwara Region have shown an example to be emulated by starting up the fund after a save motherhood training by AMREF in 2010. They were so touched that they decided to use available resources to save mothers.Four men and four women took the first step to come together and then talked other villagers into contributing as well. Each one had to contribute 1,000/= every time they harvested cashew nuts, in December.So far they have managed to save the lives of five women who were in critical condition after failing to deliver their babies at home. They used the money collected to hire a motorcycle (bodaboda) and rushed them to the Tandahimba District Hospital, 25km away where they delivered safely. They told me that five children have also been saved after developing high fever due to malaria. They were also rushed to Tandahimba.People believe in this fund after seeing its benefits and now they have plans to buy a tricycle for easier transportation of patients. In Tandahimba, this group is saving mothers and babies, other communities should copy this initiative.In the pictures, from top:-Group members with me (seated, holding a pen and notebook) at Mikuyu village, Tandahimba. Seated next to me, on my left is Femina HIP driver Venance Mapunda-Zuhura Mkalavachi with her daughter Asha, who was delivered safely through the assistance of the village fund.-Musa Hassan Naweka the motorcyclist the only bodaboda owner in Mikuyu who is always on standby to transport pregnant women to the hospital, in case of an emergencyGuest Blogger: Majuka Ololkeri is the Editor of Si Mchezo Magazine from Femina HIP, a multimedia platform working with in school age and out-of-school youth in Tanzania.