It is a small miracle that our car, a taxi borrowed from a friend of a friend, survived the journey. The rattling piece of metal took us over rolling green hills, down narrow, bumpy red dirt tracks and finally, to the remote village of Mbosha.
We traveled all this way to meet the women who, determined to meet the needs they saw within their community, decided to form a women's group. With the help of Self-Reliance Promoters' NGO (SEREP), they set out to get things done. As you can tell from the video above, their passion and energy are infectious.
The village has no electricity or running water. But yet two women from the group run a health center that in addition to providing basic health services, has already helped give birth to over 70 babies since its creation in 2005.
The women who run the clinic are volunteers. Despite having families to take care of and crops to tend to, they have taken the time to get the proper training to provide basic primary healthcare for the people of Mbosha.
Above: One of the women, with her year-old daughter (born at the health center), with Mbosha village in the background.
Above: The women in front of the new center that is currently under construction.
As they try to build their capacity, they realized that they needed a bigger space! And so they have started building a new clinic. As you can see, construction is well under way. The new health center features more room for patients, a latrine out in the back, and a separate building for a kitchen! Word has spread about the health center to the surrounding communities, and so those who must travel from afar to get here do not have local family or friends to shelter or feed them. The new building, kitchen and extra space will help solve this problem.
Above: The kitchen-in-progress
SEREP is also trying to get a palm oil project off the ground, which would consist of purchasing palm oil for both these women's families' consumption and for re-sale to generate some income. I can assure you that palm oil is an absolutely vital part of the Cameroonian diet. It is found in virtually every single traditional dish, and as one friend put it, "if it is not made with palm oil, then a Cameroonian will not eat it." Currently, because of the lack of funding, the project is not currently taking place.
And last but not least: three of the many, many children who were born in the health center that they wanted me to take pictures of!
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The women organized several community work where they collectively made sundry bricks by themselves, participated on the digging around the building. They leveled the surrounding and the frontage of the building. Most of their community work is usually organized on non farming days. Attendance is compulsory for every woman in the community. They work happily as they record the progress nature of the work. During the building of the kitchen, they carried water and supplied sundry bricks which were made and packed in one of the rooms because of rain. Currently, they are working on the kitchen which is aimed at helping patients and carers to prepare food, heat water etc. This is very important. The women have the hope of getting into the building when it is plastered and plywood put on the ceiling, because they can still start using local beds and un-cemented floors. We thank the donors who had supported this project in the past. The women of Mbosha are peasant farmers and very committed to their project. They work on this project according to the available resources. When ever there is any possibility of getting something done, they do it without any hesitation. The have a weekly meeting in which they discuss, evaluate and plan their activities. It through this method that all the manual work done is arranged and carried out collectively. Any message to the community is also passed through this forum i.e. a doctor coming to weigh under five, give health talks and give vaccination etc. They are looking forward to moving on to the new site as soon as they are able to put the ceiling board as the knockings have been completed, the leveling of the surrounding done, and the building of the small Kitchen is also going on. We are sorry our lines have given us a lot of difficulties to get the report and the attachment get through. We hope to continue reporting on the progressive nature of this project until it is fully realized. We are glad some team members of the Global Giving shall be visiting this project at the end of June 2011.
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The Construction of the Mbosha Women has recorded a significant progress. This is because Global giving funds came and encouraged them to keep up with the work. So far they have been able to complete the knockings after the repairs of the walls and digging of the toilets. The Funds were used for sawing the planks for the knockings and paid the Bricklayers, Bought Assorted nails and paid the Carpenters. The women in the community have realized the importance of this project especially with UK Volunteer who came and educated them and encouraged them to get up and as women to work harder on the project. This project has finally involved every household in the community because there is no family without a mother or a woman. The following works have been done so far because of the encouragement by Global Giving . 1. The community was able to do the leveling of all the floors, 2. completed the knockings 3. Completed the Toilets, 4. Molded Sun Dry Bricks to privde a Kitchen for Patient carers. We thank the Three donors who supported this project which encouraged the women to work harder. Because of the work that is going on, statistics shows that there is an attendance increase in Antenatal clinics, Child Weighing, Deliveries and general consultations. There is no doubt that if this project is completed, other neighboring villages will be benefiting from the health service unit. May God guide and direct those who want to support this project to do so without any hesitation. Pictures shall be seen in our next report.
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Mbohsha Primary health care centre is owned and run by the women and for the service of the entire community.
They have been struggling with this project since inception by way of putting in place basic primary health care requirements, drugs, and capacity building by the Self Reliance promoters NGO and its volunteer scheme.
It is rather very fortunate that a UK volunteer of a professional nursing background came it just at the time their
project was approved by the GlobalGiving for fundraising.
She has been working with them and helping the coordinate the work at the construction project site.
They have been operating in a local family house and now wants to move to their permanent site. So far two donations have been given to support the project.
With the first donation, The volunteers have been able to coordinate the renovation of the construction that was almost collapsing because of lack of funds, and the ceilings in some of the rooms to protect cold is being worked out.
This first disbursement was 90 US Dollars and we are waiting for the 2nd one and with more peoples support,
they will surely move to the building in February or March.
We thank the two donor and the Global Giving team for their support. A detail report can be giving with more pictures of the project if need arise. May God bless the hands that gives cheerfully and even abundantly.
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