Physical Health Tanzania, United Republic of Project #8594

Make Motherhood Safe for Tanzanian Women

by Kupona Foundation

Make Motherhood Safe for Tanzanian Women

Project Report | Mar 18, 2015
Today's the Day!

By Abbey Kocan | Executive Director

Photo courtesy of Dieter Telemans

Dear Friends,

Today is Bonus Day!

Starting at 9am EDT, donations made through GlobalGiving will receive a 30% match (up to $1,000 until funds run out), meaning your donation will go even further to change the status quo for Tanzanian women.

The Kupona team is celebrating the first Bonus Day of the year with the CCBRT team in Tanzania! Sami, our Communications and Development Associate, is visiting Tanzania for the first time. Here, Sami shares her thoughts with you on what she’s seen so far.

Meeting a real need
“For the past nine months, I have been fundraising for a hospital that I hadn't yet seen with my own eyes. Having now witnessed the impact CCBRT has on the Tanzanian community, I am convinced beyond a doubt that the gifts you are making go where they are needed most.

CCBRT is a clean, beautiful, well-managed facility that places great emphasis on client care and respect for the patient.”

What if this didn't exist?
“Watching hundreds of people pass through reception throughout the day, I kept thinking, ‘What if this didn’t exist? Where would this volume of people go to receive such a level of care?’ CCBRT provides access to top-quality services for patients who would otherwise have had to live with debilitating impairments. Given this legacy, it’s exciting to think about the life-changing and life-saving services that will be available when CCBRT Maternity and Newborn Hospital opens.”

The impact is so real, and so far-reaching.
“Not only are donations reaching the poorest of the poor, but they also are laying the foundation for a stronger healthcare system.”

Every mother deserves the chance to greet her newborn child.

A donation made today will go even further. Your support will give women and newborns in Tanzania access to the high quality treatment they need and deserve. Please help us take advantage of the matching funds available. Change a life today!

Thank you for your continued support,

The Kupona team

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Mar 15, 2015
Look what we've been up to!

By Abbey Kocan | Executive Director

Mar 8, 2015
Happy International Women's Day!

By Abbey Kocan | Executive Director

Esther

Dear Friends,

Today is International Women’s Day, a day to celebrate the incredible progress that you are making happen for women in Tanzania. With GlobalGiving’s first matching gift campaign of the year coming up in just 10 days, it’s also a great time to remind ourselves to keep pushing for the changes that we know are possible.

Meet Esther

Esther arrived at the health center in Tanga, Tanzania, as a 24-year-old expectant mother and businesswoman, with a supportive family and a bright future. She returned home with a healthy baby, but also a devastating condition that threatened to diminish that future. Obstetric fistula.

After a grueling 12-hour obstructed delivery staff at the Tanga health center were able to deliver Esther’s baby safely, but the damage to Esther’s body had already been done.

Five days after returning home, Esther noticed she was leaking urine.

Learning to Live with Fistula

“After I developed fistula, I stayed at home with my parents. I was very sad that I could not go to any celebrations or to see my neighbors because I would be ashamed for anyone to see my leaking.”

“Before I had fistula, I owned a cosmetic shop. After my baby was born, I could not go back…I had spent the money that I would need to purchase more supplies for my business on my health and fistula expenses.”

Esther lived with fistula for seven months. Finally, a doctor told her about our local implementing partner, CCBRT, where her condition could be treated. After a 200 mile journey, Esther was admitted for fistula repair surgery.

Esther’s surgery was successful, and she is now recovering, pain-free. She is happy to be completely dry, and to have her beautiful, healthy son. She will soon return home to her family and community.

A stark reminder

Esther’s story is one of survival and hope. High quality fistula treatment is available free of charge at CCBRT. Since the program began, thousands of women have had their dignity restored through surgery. With Kupona’s support, CCBRT has become one of the largest fistula treatment centers in the world.

The thing is, Esther’s story never should have happened.

Prevention is better than cure

Fistula is completely preventable, yet every year, there are up to 3,000 new cases of fistula in Tanzania. High quality, emergency obstetric care would have spared Esther the trauma of living with incontinence.

Your donations to Kupona have taken us one step closer toward eradicating this condition from Tanzania. Your support has helped us to take huge bounds toward improving the quality of maternal and newborn healthcare in some of the most under-resourced health facilities in the region of Dar es Salaam. It has also helped us make incredible progress on the construction of a new Maternity and Newborn Hospital – a hospital that will focus specifically on high-risk deliveries and women with a history of obstetric fistula, like Esther, who are particularly vulnerable to complications in future pregnancies.

We’ve still got a long way to go

In 10 days, GlobalGiving will launch its first Bonus Day of the year, giving you the opportunity to increase the impact of your donation. Donate on March 18^th beginning at 9am EDT and your donation will receive a 30% match from GlobalGiving! So please, mark your calendars, and help us to prevent more women from facing the devastation of fistula.

Thank you for your continued support, and Happy International Women’s Day!

Abbey

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