This microproject will provide the first birthing bed in the remote village of Rwenena. Women there have been pleading for one since at least 2012. Soon after the establishment and election of a women's committee in 2019, members issued an appeal for the bed, which was denied. This lifesaving bed remains a top priority for Rwenena women due to complications and fatalities that exist without one.
Without a birthing bed, women and babies risk harm from giving birth on an old floor. Conditions are unsanitary and babies have inadequate gravity to pass through the birth canal. In life-threatening cases, women must walk more than 4 miles to a better-equipped clinic, resulting in occasional deaths. Neither cars nor ambulances are an option. The women's petition for the bed was denied due to the prohibitive cost of $900. Residents pooled meager resources but fell far short
Just 1.5 years ago, Rwenena was without a birthing nurse to facilitate and safely deliver babies. The same appeal for a bed to regional health authorities also contained a request for such a nurse, which was granted. Providing a bed will enable the nurse to better perform her professional birthing skills in a safer environment. Any excess funds raised will be put to effective use related to Rwenena health care.
The Rwenena Health Center is well reputed and well known by the health authorities and even by the political-administrative authorities. Equipped with both a birthing bed and obstetric/gynecological nurse, the Center will advance to a higher level of care. Perhaps most significantly, the lives of mothers and their newborn babies will be less imperiled by dangerous birthing conditions.
