CleanBirth - Saving Mothers and Babies in Laos
CleanBirth.org - Donate $5 Saves 2 Lives
I am starting to approach organizations that might be interested in Clean Birth Kits. I feel strongly from what I have read that these this is a worthwhile pursuit. Perhaps they won’t save tens of thousands of lives. But shouldn’t every woman, during such a powerful, difficult, and life-changing event, have access to clean, safe birth?
I say yes. And so I send out the first emails, contacting maternal health organizations that may benefit from these kits.
I’ve been thinking about starting a women empowering non-profit for a decade. I honed in on CBKs in January. My life — kids, teaching yoga, doula work — has prevented me from spending as much time as I’d like getting down to it. But I’m ready now.
Don’t get me wrong, I love nothing more than thinking about what country I will head to next. I have read guide books, blogs, US State Dept blogs on numerous destinations. But it’s not as easy as picking a country. I want to make an impact and to do so the project must be a good fit.
I had a great experience volunteering for Shanti Uganda — my strengths and experience were just what they needed. Read about it here. I want to make sure that my CBK project advances the mission of the organization that I will supply.
I have in mind Central America. There is need. It is warm, close to the US and Spanish speaking. Nicaragua in particular gets decent marks for safety, which matters to me since I will be bringing my kids eventually. Guatemala, which gets poor safety marks, has some very interesting maternal health programs, such as Clinicas Maya.
The other country that I have thought of is Laos, which last year graduated its first class of midwives in 20 years. Article here. Having spent nearly two years in neighboring Thailand and traveled somewhat extensively in Laos, I have a feel for the place. Again weather good; safety better than Central America. However, I have yet to find a small organization working with women. Most work seems to be driven by the Ministry of Health. And it’s a long and expensive flight.
I will keep learning about effective CBK projects already in place, while researching potential organizations/clinics that may be open to a CBK project.
I am really interested in learning more about health and birth education for mothers in the third world. In Cambodia, one of the visiting western doctors that I met was really frustrated by the lack of pre-natal and post-natal care and education for women. Having no medical background myself, but a strong interest in seeing mothers succeed in bringing healthy babies into the world and keeping them healthy, I wanted to learn how to help.
Well… now I am learning. I am looking into birth doula and postpartum doula certification. I found DONA International, an association of doulas, which has a lot of information. I also found BirthWorks nearby in New Jersey. It just seems like a good fit: supporting women before and after they give birth through education and yoga.