Give Women Recovering from Fistula a Bright Future

Dear Friend, 

Kupona celebrated World Breastfeeding Week by raising awareness around the neonatal care work our colleagues at our sister organization in Tanzania, CCBRT, are doing.CCBRT discovered the start of breastfeeding for sick and preterm newborns admitted to the neonatal care units of Dar es Salaam is often very delayed, and responded with a project (funded by Laerdal Foundation) on early and exclusive breastfeeding, emphasizing how vital this is for low birthweight or premature newborns.

In celebration of World Breastfeeding Week, Dr. Antke Zuechner, CCBRT Neonatal Technical Advisor, and her colleagues trained over ten nurses and midwives through proper breastfeeding techniques over a week, so that they are prepared when premature or sick newborns are too weak to breastfeed. The nurses and midwives learned how to help mothers pump their breast milk so their newborn babies can drink by cup or tube feeding. Learn more about the breastfeeding training here. 

After talking to our colleagues at CCBRT about the importance of immediate breastfeeding, we heard Neema’s story: 

Neema delivered her baby girl at home just a few weeks ago. She came to the hospital shortly after because her baby couldn’t latch on for breastfeeding. When Neema arrived at the hospital, her baby was shivering, and something wasn’t right. The doctors at Temeke Hospital, one of CCBRT’s Maternal Health Capacity Building (MHCB) partners, took emergency action to keep Neema’s baby warm, give her O2 therapy, and insert an IV line to keep her hydrated. The baby was diagnosed with neonatal sepsis, and the doctors at Temeke treated her immediately. She was in the hospital with varying symptoms, from a high temperature to a swollen abdomen, for over 5 days. The most consistent treatment? Neema’s breastmilk.

The doctors at Temeke had been trained by CCBRT’s Maternal Health Capacity Building team on proper breastfeeding techniques in these exact situations. By the 5th day Neema’s baby had stabilized, and could breastfeed without any problem. Neema was very grateful that her baby was alive, and that her breastmilk helped her get better. 

Doctor Victoria at Temeke said, “before attending CCBRT’s breastfeeding training, we wouldn’t have known how to administer Neema’s breastmilk to her baby. CCBRT’s training has helped many children in Tanzania get their mother’s milk immediately, and get healthier regardless of their condition.” 

Thanks to the incredible doctors at Temeke, and CCBRT’s MHCB team, Neema’s child survived. It is this important work that keeps mothers and newborns safe. 

Susana Oguntoye, 
Executive Director, Kupona Foundation 

Dear Friend, 

The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to significantly impact CCBRT and Tanzanians since we updated you a month ago. As Tanzania’s fight against COVID-19 is just beginning, CCBRT has been providing essential services that would otherwise fall by the wayside, particularly for pregnant women, newborn, and patients needing essential specialized care. Even in a pandemic women are still having babies and children born with clubfoot and cleft palate still require surgery and rehabilitative support, we are just working a little differently. 

A look at CCBRT’s work during COVID: 

• The women recovering from obstetric fistula at The Mabinti Center have transitioned from hand sewing bags, pillows, and other household items, to making masks to keep Tanzanians and CCBRT staff safe. While in-person training is limited to the bare minimum for COVID-19 response and infection control, the staff continues to work hard to continue their income generating activities. The Kupona Team got a shipment of Mabinti masks, so please reach out to us if you are interested in purchasing any. 
  
  
• CCBRT conducted a 3-day training on the rights of people with disabilities, including basic wheelchair repair and maintenance. The training will enable health care workers to support wheelchair users in home settings. Additionally, in celebration of Father’s Day, CCBRT conducted a training for fathers’ of children with disabilities. The goal is to equip fathers with the necessary skills for caring for a child with disabilities. 
  
  
• On May 23rd, CCBRT virtually celebrated International Day to End Obstetric Fistula through awareness raising advertisements on local radio stations, and through international media platforms. Learn more about CCBRT’s fistula services during COVID from the head of the Department, Dr. Peter. 

Your support makes it possible for us to continue to keep our colleagues at CCBRT safe while they provide essential services during the pandemic. The Kupona and CCBRT Teams are thinking of you and your loved ones during this difficult time. Stay tuned for additional updates on how CCBRT is innovatively fighting COVID-19 in Tanzania. 

With gratitude,

Susana Oguntoye
Executive Director

P.S. If you are shopping on Amazon for a Father’s Day gift, don’t forget to select Kupona as your charity through Amazon Smile. 

Today, I want to introduce you to Nurse Theresa, a woman who embodies the strength and resilience that we see in so many of the women and girls that we serve.

Nurse Theresa has been a nurse for over 20 years, and is the head of the Neonatal Clinic at Mwananyamala Hospital, one of the 23 facilities supported by our partner CCBRT’s Maternal Health Capacity Building Program (MHCB). In 2018, Nurse Theresa attended a week-long breastfeeding training organized and led by CCBRT. In the training, she learned about the importance of breastfeeding, how to help babies breastfeed early, and potential challenges with  breastfeeding. 

Nurse Theresa shared that the training was very beneficial, and that she learned a lot in only five days. She returned to work to lead on-the-job training on breastfeeding for other nurses in the ward. Nurses at Mwananyamala Hospital had identified that supporting early breastfeeding and communicating about the importance of breastfeeding had been challenges in the Neonatal Clinic. Following the CCBRT-led training, Nurse Theresa and her fellow nurses were better equipped and more confident, providing continuous breastfeeding support for new mothers and helping set the stage for a healthy start for both mom and baby. 

Nurse Theresa regularly contacts CCBRT’s MHCB staff when she has questions, and they often check in with her. She is thankful that she could attend the training, and that she was able to share what she learned as  a Trainer for her colleagues. She looks forward to attending future CCBRT training on other topics such as low birth weight babies, and kangaroo mother care. 

Your support makes it possible for us to empower women like Nurse Theresa with the knowledge and tools they need to continue to raise the quality of maternal and newborn healthcare and in turn, to prevent more women from developing obstetric fistula. From March 6th-13th, we will be celebrating the strength and resilience of the girls and women we serve in Tanzania as part of GlobalGiving’s Girl Fund Campaign. We need your help. Stay tuned for more details on the Girl Fund Campaign later this week!  

With gratitude,
Abbey Kocan
Executive Director

Dear Friends,

On Giving Tuesday, our team called you to action in support of the people we serve. Watch this video to see what YOUR generosity means for women like Angela, in her own words. 

“They operated on me four times, but I did not recover. That’s when I gave up, I thought I would never recover from fistula. I lost hope...When I reached CCBRT, I was no longer the only one suffering from fistula. I met many other women like me. CCBRT has transformed my life. Right now I am learning how to be a seamstress at Mabinti,” Angela told us. 

On Giving Tuesday our community mobilized over $14,000. We are on our way to reaching our goal of $50,000 by year end. With $50,000 we can give 100 women like Angela the gift of a clean, respectful, safe delivery at CCBRT’s new maternity and newborn hospital. 

If you didn't get the chance to give on Tuesday, good news! GlobalGiving has just launched a second round of prize funds, giving you another chance to amplify your impact. From now until December 31st, GlobalGiving will continue to award cash prizes to the organizations that raise the most funds, and also to those who mobilize the most donors. It’s not too late to play your part and unlock the potential to change lives this holiday season. Make your gift today. 

Thank you so much for your support. Wishing you a happy start to the holiday season.

With gratitude,

Abbey Kocan, Executive Director

P.S. Don't forget to spread the word to your friends and family. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram and share the posts that inspire you this giving season!

Dear Friend, 

As a valued supporter of our GlobalGiving project “Give Women Recovering from Fistula a Bright Future”, I wanted to reach out to invite you to a special milestone event celebrating Kupona Foundation’s 10th Anniversary on Thursday, October 10th in New York City. 

Since its founding in 2009, the Kupona community has helped its Tanzanian partner CCBRT provide over 100,000 life-changing surgeries for children and adults living with disabilities like cleft lip/palate, obstetric fistula and cataracts, and has helped improve a mother’s chance of survival by 40% in the Dar es Salaam region of Tanzania. We are so grateful for your support, and hope that you will also feel pride in these accomplishments.

You’re invited! We are celebrating Kupona’s 10th Anniversary at The Penn Club of New York, where we’ll be joined by special guests Brenda Msangi, CEO of CCBRT and Dr. Brenda D’mello, who leads CCBRT's Maternal Health Capacity Building Program. Together, these two inspiring leaders have spent nearly 20 years at CCBRT, serving the Tanzanian community and bringing endless energy and commitment to their work in program design, management and strategic partnership development. You are invited to join us to meet the Kupona team, Brenda and Dr. Brenda as we share our vision for the future and celebrate a decade of changing and saving lives for the communities we serve. 

Please visit Kupona’s event page to RSVP and read about the event. I hope that you will be able to join us for this important milestone celebration. 

All the best,
Abbey Kocan