CleanBirth - Saving Mothers and Babies in Laos

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Meet Chanpheng, a district nurse at a rural clinic in Laos

Red hat baby and NurseJPGChanpheng, on the right, is one of the first nurses that CleanBirth.org trained.  Our volunteer Natalie interviewed her to learn what she thought about the Village Volunteer trainings.  Here’s what she had to say:

“My name’s Chanpheng. I represent nurses who distribute the birth kits. Are volunteers needed, you ask?

Yes, the volunteers are needed in every village because they are our assistants who collect the number of pregnant women, the number of women who give birth and number of deaths of women and new born babies during delivery. They are the ones who help mothers taking care themselves, of their babies and tell them about the benefits of breastfeeding.”

Let’s keep funding these assistants for nurses who cannot physically be with mothers who do not venture to the clinic for delivery or pre/post-natal care.   The Volunteers are the eyes and ears of the nurses.  They are best suited to help mothers have safe pregnancies, deliveries and care for their newborns.

Read about us on World Moms Blog

Here’s an excerpt from my article, appearing in today’s World Mom’s Blog:

The training of the last group, Village Volunteers, is particularly exciting.  The nurses we train about Clean Birth Kits and safe birthing practices, have begun passing their knowledge to women from each remote village.

The nurses explain how to use and distribute the Clean Birth Kits, as well as how to track their use with a picture data sheet.  They cover topics like safe pregnancy, the importance of having a partner during delivery (many women birth alone) and the importance of exclusive breastfeeding.

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Photo provided by CleanBirth.org

A government representative who attended the Village Volunteer training in December 2013 was impressed and said, “We need more of these trainings throughout the Province.”  That kind of validation from the government isessential to scaling up the project.

Read the whole post here http://www.worldmomsblog.com/2014/01/07/social-good-cleanbirth-yale-university-empower-local-nurses/

 

Health Volunteers: Training and Support Needed

Slide1Sometimes, when you are running a small non-profit with a big mission it’s easy for the cart to get ahead of the horse.  While it is good to keep moving forward, it is also important to step back, review what is working, talk to the stakeholders, and where needed make improvements.

This week several items have got me thinking that we are on the right track to be training health volunteers in each community. However, instead of dreaming about a mobile phone in the hands of every health volunteer, we need to take a step back and ensure that they get the right training and support.

This week I watched a video about new WHO guidelines for “task shifting” from doctors and nurses to health workers.  I also read this article about the about health worker training.  Both made me think:

We need to make sure that we have a good plan for training and supporting the volunteer health workers, before we give them tangible supplies or cell phones.

A new article from Cochrane, looks at data from 50 qualitative studies of worldwide community health worker initiatives.  They identify, according to Helen Morton of Cochrane, eight key factors that could help facilitate success:

1. Community connection: Selecting community health workers with local knowledge and from similar backgrounds to their patients.

2. Incentives: Introducing incentives that community health workers see as fair, consistent and appropriate.

3. Participation: Enabling families and communities to engage in deciding which health services will best meet their needs.

4. Training: Providing sufficient, high-quality and relevant training, including counseling and communication skills.

5. Working conditions: Ensuring a reasonable workload, manageable distances to cover and adequate supplies.

6. Integration: Encouraging clinics and the broader health system to recognise and engage community health workers, and nurses and other health professionals to develop better working relationships with them.

7. Low/no cost services: Delivering health care that is affordable for all.

8. Communication and support: Providing opportunities for community health workers to provide mutual support to one another and building channels for them to voice grievances.

 

 

Gratitude for Volunteers

marlawowAs I begin brainstorming about how to thank our donors this Thanksgiving, I want to give a special shout out to all of our volunteers who have made a huge difference!

First CleanBirth.org’s board has been amazing in pushing the project forward.  Jenny Fouracre, Shannon Lawton O’Boyle, and Max Zalota have enthusiastically devoted hours and so much heart to the cause.

Marla Katz, our superstar teen intern, has raised so much money I can’t believe it.  Her can-do spirit got her whole high school involved.

Dee and Kristyn with the US Ambassador
Dee and Kristyn with the US Ambassador

Dee Harlow’s efforts have put us on the map in Vientaine, Laos. Pip Boyce, Imogen Matthews and so many others made our fundraiser in Vientaine a huge success!

So grateful for the ongoing design support of Marcella Kovac atBananland, photography by Karissa Van Tassel Photography, videography by Ariana Thibodeau and invaluable SEO advice from Hoa Ton-That.

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Fundraiser at the Eli Whitney

Bill and Sally Brown at The Eli Whitney Museum and Workshop for donating the beautiful space for our New Haven Fundraiser.  To Susan Clinard whose beautiful giving, spirit made it all possible from start to finish. To Anna Festa, Kelly Bee, Holly Jermyn, Robin Ladoceur and Kiara Matos all the volunteers who pitched in.  Big thanks to the amazing businesses and artists who gave to our silent auction.

The Yale University Law School has provided us with free legal services. YaleWomenCT and Pecha Kucha enabled me to tell the CleanBirth.org story. The Fitness Haven New Haven hosted an event for us!  My fellow World Moms at World Moms Blog have spread the word about CleanBirth.org far and wide — literally!

A new and very important volunteer Natalie Gracia, an Australian medical student, is headed to Salavan this December to monitor the restocking of Clean Birth Kits and observing the next CleanBirth volunteer training.  In addition to her time she is covering the cost of her trip!

Wow I am so grateful for all of the hours all of you have spent!  With our donors, your free work has made it possible to stretch $20,000 to provide 2,000 birth kits, train 16 nurses and 20 health workers.  THANK YOU!

 

 

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