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…..
