Give Women Recovering from Fistula a Bright Future

Greetings from Kupona Foundation!

We were so pleased to have CCBRT’s Dr. Brenda D’mello join us in April for a Fireside Chat. This intimate conversation provided an in-depth look at what has been happening at CCBRT.

Here’s what we heard from Dr. Brenda:

What’s happening at CCBRT 

• The CCBRT Maternal and Newborn Wing is open! The first baby was delivered on January 3, 2022 during the soft opening. The official opening was in July. To date, CCBRT has had over 500 deliveries, providing a safe, respectful delivery experience for mothers and babies – a major departure from where we started in 2010. The wing includes 6 clinical blocks with 160 bed capacity, 4 operating rooms, 2 procedure rooms, 8 delivery suites and 15 outpatient consultation rooms.       

• What does this mean? CCBRT is now able to provide high quality, respectful care for mothers and babies onsite, with a focus on those who are at greatest risk, further contributing to a decrease public facility congestion and preventable maternal death, premature birth, and stillbirth.
• How can you help? Kupona and CCBRT are committed to supporting healthy pre- and post-natal care for mothers in need in Tanzania. We have a goal of supporting 500 vulnerable women with free services, annually. Your donations directly enable our ability to scale up services to those most in need.

• Tim’s Corner Family Planning services are now embedded within the maternity wing.  Over 1,500 family planning visits have occurred since the opening of the new wing. Family planning services at CCBRT have been made possible thanks to the generosity of the Tim’s Corner community. Thank you for your generosity over the years - you continue to make an impact, especially on populations who typically fall through the cracks. 

• CCBRT’s holistic fistula surgery and treatment program continues to change the lives of over 600 women per year. The full complement of supports for women recovering from fistula includes physical healing, as well as social and emotional healing at the House of Hope.  Additional opportunities through the Mabinti Centre provide life, sewing and economic / business skills training to provide women the opportunity to create income generating opportunities for themselves and their families. 

What’s next for CCBRT 

• CCBRT is focused on strategic growth to continue to change lives and transform communities in Tanzania. Current goals include: 

• Full operationalization of the Maternal and Newborn Wing 
• Reaching more patients with high quality and respectful clinical care, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, such as children under 5 (in the Disability Hospital), women and girls living with obstetric fistula, pregnant women living with a disability, pregnant women with a history of fistula, and pregnant adolescent girls 

• Engaging in more clinical and community research  
• Increasing sustainability by expanding and diversifying the donor portfolio and social impact investors 
• Continuing to evolve the CCBRT Academy, including telehealth services and enhancing the surgical skills training lab 

Thank you for your continued support of Kupona Foundation and the important work happening every day at CCBRT.