I am leaving for Kokolopori in a few days, and have just procured the supplies for our newly-trained nurse midwives. We will deploy the midwives to the three Kokolopori health centers or dispensaries. Because the 36 Kokolopori villages are spread along a long (40 mile) road, the clinics are spaced evenly among the villages.

We have purchased three of each of the following types of equipment with your generous donations:

- hanging infant scales
- tabletop baby scales
- serrated hemostat
- obstetrical forceps
- anatomical hemostat
- scissors
- speculums
- curettes
- blood pressure meters
- stethoscopes
- drum-shaped basins
- kidney-shaped basins
- measuring tape

On my last trip to Kokolopori in October 2009, I took along a visitor, Martin Bendeler, from the Indigo Foundation in Australia which has provided important funding for Kokolopori’s health clinic. Read Martin’s stories of a delivery and an appendectomy he observed on that visit: [http://www.kokolopori-partnership.org/Martin_s_Kokolopori_clinic_stories_10.2009.pdf]

We still need to equip six of our newly trained midwives, and are beginning training classes in 2010 for nine more students. With the support of our friends through Global Giving, we can continue saving lives of mothers and babies in Kokolopori. Thank you!