By Pueblo a Pueblo | Maternal Child Health Project
December means many things for the Maternal Child Health project. In addition to conducting regular home visits and reflecting on a year’s worth of women’s health education and advocacy, Vilma and Rebeca always have one more event on their calendar: the Maternal Child Health end-of-year party! Every year brings participating mothers new challenges as they advocate for their own health and the health of their children, and every year, our team is there to support them. The project provides not only concrete economic resources but also education on topics related to reproductive health and child development so that mothers have the knowledge they need to make informed decisions about their families’ health. When our team gets together with participating mothers at the end of the year, they have a lot to celebrate!
On December 5th, all but two of the project's 22 participants gathered in a sunny, grassy park, most of them with their infants or toddlers in tow. After Vilma gave some opening remarks, Rebeca led a series of games that quickly got the women smiling and laughing. During one game, Rebeca challenged each team to pass an orange from player to player without using their hands. During another, pairs of women carried water balloons between their foreheads. They played soccer and basketball and relaxed in the grass with their little ones, taking in the sun. On any given day, these women shoulder a lot of responsibility—they care for their children and older relatives, cook and clean for their households, and earn income for their families—but for a few hours on this sunny Wednesday, they simply enjoyed each other’s company.
Lunch was served, and once everyone was relaxing in the shade, Vilma and Rebeca took the opportunity to recognize the participants who showed the greatest dedication to the health workshops given throughout the year—women with near-perfect attendance who brought attention and energy to each training. Two project participants gave presentations on topics relevant to all of the mothers: Concepción spoke about patient empowerment in doctor’s visits, and Lilian spoke about the importance of vaccination. Vilma and Rebeca then distributed Christmas gifts to each participant—a hygiene kit and new Tupperware container for each mother and a pair of shoes for each child.
Finally, shifting everyone's focus to the year ahead, Vilma read out the lists of the new workshop groups. Participants are grouped for health workshops according to the age of their new child, so each year brings the shifting of groups as infants become one-year-olds and three-year-olds turn four. The first workshop of 2019 will take place in just three weeks, on January 29th. Here’s to another year of education and advocacy. Thank you for helping Pueblo a Pueblo provide spaces for mothers and their young children to learn and thrive!
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