Congratulations to All Who Helped Us to Raise the Funds for the First Ambulance!

The news is in hot off the press!  We have raised enough money to purchase the first of two ambulances in Ethiopia.  This ambulance will be used by the Adwa clinic as soon as it’s purchased and delivered.  The impact will be huge as thousands of lives will be saved.  And none of this could have happened without all who made a contribution- big and small.  Now we need to take this momentum and use it to help us get the funds raised for the second ambulance!  Way to go!

Great News About Maternal Death Rates for all but Six Developing Countries

Just this past week, the Lancet released a study done by the Institutes for Health Metrics and Evaluation titled, “Maternal mortality for 181 countries, 1980-2008: systematic analysis of progress towards Millennium Development Goal 5.”   The findings in this study are surprising and promising.  Imagine what an accomplishment this is.  The numbers of families whose once tragic story now plays out positively is really mind boggling.  Mothers stay alive to be mothers.  Their children are not orphaned.  It is wonderful and developing countries get to be part of the good news this time around.  In fact, the study reports that “developing countries, in particular, have made substantial progress toward the Millennium Development Goal set in 2000 of reducing the MMR (maternal mortality rate)… countries such as Egypt, China, Ecuador, and Bolivia have been achieving accelerated progress.”  Wow.  Developing countries have been achieving accelerated progress.  That is so good to hear.

Yet there are always exceptions.  Ethiopia is called out as one of those exceptions. According to the study, “More than 50% of all maternal deaths were in only six countries in 2008 (India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo).”  What a staggering statistic that is – 50% of all maternal deaths are accounted for by only six countries and  we know why these countries loose so many mothers during and after labor and delivery.

Wide Horizons for Children (WHFC) continues to work tirelessly to break down the barriers that keep Ethiopians from accessing good health care.  Their work is rooted in the principle of breaking the cycle of poverty through Ethiopian driven projects that help move people towards economic self-sufficiency.  Among their many projects are two hospital projects – one in Sidamo and one in Tigray.  With the support of the stable and democratic Ethiopian government, WHFC continues their partnership with local Ethiopian communities to construct and staff these new hospitals. The local Ethiopian communities have donated 10% of their own labor and resources to the projects. The result of this partnership will be the Leku Hospital in the southern Sidamo region, and the Adwa Clinic in the northern Tigray region.  The momentum is growing as WHFC works to secure the funding needed to complete these two projects.

WHFC has even started a program to treat postpartum hemorrhage through training and medications that the Traditional Birth Attendants and Health Extension Workers can administer in their communities.  But the need remains for transportation other than on foot or by being dragged on a make-shift stretcher, to get laboring and postpartum mothers to the hospital when more advanced care is needed to save their lives.   An ambulance is desperately needed for these cases.  We are raising the funds to purchase an ambulance for each of these two hospitals.  Our goal is for Ethiopia to be listed among the developing countries achieving accelerated progress and not be called out as a country whose mothers continue to die needlessly. Consider making a donation or passing this on to someone you know can make a donation and be a part of this positive change.

Ethiopian Humanitarian Aide Focus in the New Year

The new year is always a good time to reasses your personal goals so among other things like spend more time with my family, eat more leafy greens and take in more sunsets, I’ve recomitted to do what I can to help WHFC accomplish their mission of breaking the cycle of poverty in Ethiopia.  For those who have read my previous entries, you know that I have a son who was born in Ethiopia and since bringing him home, I have felt a strong connection to the country.  But as I’ve commented in earlier posts, I’ve been humbled by the struggles of Ethiopians in need of better access to health care.  While at times, the problems seem daunting, I have come to understand that the challenges are surmountable.

In fact, the challenges are being met, in particular by WHFC and their medical missions.  On a recent WHFC medical mission tweet (twitter.com/whfcmedmission), one of the volunteer surgeons shared the story of 2 women whom he cared for during the trip.  Before I tell you more about this story, I’ll tell you that the medical mission which travels to Ethiopia as part of a regular quarterly trip,  brought medical supplies, caught up with the Health Extension Workers who had been giving misoprostol to women who might otherwise die of post-partum hemorrhage, and continued training Ethiopian health care providers.  The medical missions include work in the Sidamo region and the Tigray region.

So back to the story of these 2 women.  Each had suffered arrested labor at their respective homes.  Each walked over a day in that state (imagine a partially born child) but each woman made it to the hospital.  One lost her uterus.  One had an infection. Both lost their babies.  But both women lived.  Imagine if there had been an ambulance to turn that day-long walk into a few hour ride.

This story has inspired me to inject new energy into the work of raising $50 thousand dollars to buy the 2 ambulances that are so desperately needed.  Maybe you are inspired too.  Imagine how many other people’s tragic stories could end differently.  If only they could get to the hospital.

Stay tuned for more on the medical missions when we hear directly on this blog from those on the trip…..

Staggering Statistics in Ethiopia Find Hope in WHFC Humanitarian Aid

Today I presented a Grand Rounds to a group of physicians and residents in my local hospital.  The topic was health care in Ethiopia.  Obviously something near to my heart.  So the preparations were not hard at all and the delivery of the message, even easier.  What was so difficult was thinking about the numbers I was planning to present.  The staggering statistics are at times, hard to comprehend.  Intellectually I can appreciate how 1 in 16 people in Ethiopia are orphans whereas 1 in over 3,000 are orphaned in the US.  It’s an unacceptable number.  Or that 70% of all childhood deaths in Ethiopia are due to malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea or malnutrition.  All preventable.  All treatable.  Or worse, that 1 in 13 children in Ethiopia die before reaching the age of 1.  Anyone can understand the tragedy these numbers represent.  Or can they?  Maybe not until they’re living it.  So at times, as I think of these things from afar (and not living it), I feel like all I can do is get overwhelmed and utterly saddened by these facts and figures.  I mean, can we really make a difference?  And then I take a deep breath and think of the life saving work that is going on right this minute to change these statistics.  The people on the ground, like the Ethiopian Health Extension Workers (HEW’s), now numbering 30,000 across the country, are changing lives.  And a small group of them is doing that with the help of volunteer doctors who were on a recent WHFC medical mission.  On this mission, WHFC volunteer doctors trained HEW’s and Birth Attendants about the use of misoprostol to stop post-partum hemorrhage.  They held training’s, left supplies and made plans for good record keeping so that on subsequent visits they could track the project’s success and future needs.  These HEW’s and Birth Attendants are now out in their communities, ready to save a mother’s life. Ready to change the outcome for a mother in their own community.  Ready to drop the number of orphans one by one.  And so as I imagine this work, its tangible qualities with reports and photos, I can imagine, not just intellectually, but in my heart, how we can help Ethiopians to change their numbers.  WHFC is already doing it and they need our help.  The work is happening and it’s too important and too valuable to ignore.

WHFC Humanitarian Work in Ethiopia Makes Another Connection for My Family…

As I continue to learn about the 2 hospitals WHFC is building in Ethiopia, I am astounded by the facts.  For instance, there are only 2 hospitals in the Sidama Region meant to serve 10 million people.  Incredible.  And here in the States, we have on average 32 beds per 1000 people.  I think back to my days in residency in a 400 bed hospital that served our small community.  In winter flu months, we were at capacity, struggling to meet the needs of all of our patients.  That was at 32 beds per 1000.   Now think 400 beds for 10 million people or 32 beds for 400,000 people in Sidama.

 

And because of the very long and difficult trip on foot or bicycle to even get someone to one of these hospitals, many die en route.  Imagine what one more hospital and one ambulance will do to improve the odds.  In fact, the Leku clinic and soon-to-be hospital, which WHFC is working with Ethiopians on the ground to build and staff, will increase access to medical care by 70% for people in the surrounding area, most notably mothers and children.   

 

Speaking of people in the surrounding area, part of our extended family is now among those in the surrounding area who will benefit.  My son’s birth family includes 2 boys, who will have free and unlimited access to the Leku Hospital as they are part of WHFC’s child sponsorship program.   They have already completed 1 year of school and have more resources to help their family become independent.  Adding quality, accessible free medical care is another essential piece that will help to empower them.   My husband and I just learned this fact and now when my son asks me what I’m doing spending all this time at my computer, I tell him, we’re helping to build a hospital for our Ethiopian family.  He smiles and says in 3 year old speech “E-tee-ope-ea Mama”! 

Rebecca’s Story

As an adoptive parent and physician, I have started this blog in the hopes of stirring up interest and discussion on the topic of health care in Ethiopia.  Perhaps even inspire you to help WHFC in their important efforts.  I’ll be sharing posts on what I’ve been told along the way.  I’ll also share posts from others working on this effort – both parents and those in health care who have traveled to and worked in Ethiopia.

To start things off, I’ll tell you a bit about my own family and why I’m doing this.  My husband and I have a 3-year-old son who was born in Ethiopia and came home with us in 2007.  He’s  warm, loving, engaged, and eternally happy kid and we, of course, feel so completely blessed to be his parents.  But his story, now our family’s story, is borne out of tragic circumstances and a kind of heart ache that’s still hard for me to understand.  In fairness to my son, I won’t share the details of our story here.  But I will tell you that his birth parents had not only a preventable but also treatable illnesses which combined with extreme poverty, ultimately led him to his orphan status by age 4 months.  He was brought to WHFC’s orphanage in Addis and not long after, my husband and I were told we’d been matched with this baby boy.  In a few short months, we’d be with him in Addis, learning the ins and outs of his daily routine in preparation for bringing him home.

It was an amazing time for us.  We visited a beautiful country, we met our gorgeous son, we were learning how to be a family.  And yet, I knew that I had witnessed something compelling.  That what’s so basic here – a car, a road and a hospital to rush someone to in an emergency – doesn’t exist there.  That so many children suffer from Rickets just because they don’t have enough to eat.  That some in my son’s birth family, whom we met, have no drinking water.  In all my joy as a new mom, I was grappling with what I’d seen.  I’m still not sure if it’s the mom in me or the physician in me, maybe both, who was so stunned  by the enormous difference in what we have in the States versus what our now extended family in Ethiopia didn’t have at a time when they needed it most.  Access to health care that would have changed the outcome of my son’s life.  What I have been able to do with this privileged look into the vast divide between how our basic needs are met here in this country versus how these needs are not met in Ethiopia, is to find a way to help.  To play a role in closing this divide.

I’ve discovered that it’s pretty doable to play this role.  Ethiopia is a safe, beautiful, democratic country.  It has an excellent medical school.  It holds the birth places of human kind and many religions.  Its people are warm and smart and peaceful.  And the WHFC projects are driven by Ethiopians on the ground so the work  is destined to be successful.  My current volunteer goal with WHFC relates to two of their hospital projects: I plan to raise enough money in one year to buy two ambulances for these two hospitals.  These are not to replace old ambulances.  These are to replace people being carried by their family members on make-shift stretchers over difficult terrain usually taking days and unfortunately often ending in the loss of life.  It’s a cause that is so basic.  So hard to dispute.  And so important.  So I am excited to help and inspired to write this blog and share the journey with you.

Welcome!

Welcome to WHFC’s Ethiopia humanitarian aid blog.  We will be posting timely updates about the work we are doing to help children and families in Ethiopia.  In collaboration with our Ethiopian staff and local governments, we have focused on the key areas of child sponsorship, family permanency, community development, health and education and established programs to make real change possible.  The primary author of our blog is an adoptive mom and physician, and will be focusing on the issues related to health care in Ethiopia.  Stay tuned for lots of great information!