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Tanzania Update
Earlier this year, I questioned whether Tanzania would remain a destination for us. A combination of my own exhaustion, vicarious trauma, and the real question: Are we doing more harm than good by showing up at the clinics for a week and then leaving?
There are many layers to this question, and it depends on who you ask. As a white woman running trips in Black and Brown spaces, I must utilize my privilege with tremendous responsibility and mindfulness. From the outside, elements of volunteer tourism, voyeurism, or saviorism can be assumed. However, we put immense thought into crafting this experience to avoid those elements. This requires constant accountability, listening to feedback, and being open to evolvement. After this last trip earlier this month, with many new changes in place, I have never felt more invested or inspired. Our group was amazing and what we accomplished has left me buzzing.
One of the days, I asked the hospital directors directly: Do you think we are doing harm by coming with groups for a week? Are we in your way? How can we improve our presence?
Feedback: The overwhelming response was positive! "Positive plus plus plus!!" said Dr. Heriel, the director of Karatu Lutheran Health Center. He described our visits as "friend raising". He emphasized that while fundraising is crucial, building connections and getting people invested in the clinics has the potential to impact generations to come. Dr. Heriel said that we may not see the impact of our presence during our short visit, but that the example of compassionate birth support we are setting will have long-term impact. He, like us, is thinking big picture.
For example, one of our travelers in 2019, Madi DuPont, was so invested in the clinics after her initial visit that she went back to Colorado and raised enough funds to buy an ultrasound machine for the busy local clinic (averages between 120-180 births a month!). This machine has saved countless lives and is recognized far and wide.
This year, thanks to your generosity, Wombs of the World Foundation was able to buy more essential medical equipment for the clinics, including:
A portable ultrasound machine
A phototherapy machine (Jaundice light)
A multi-parameter patient monitor
An LED examination lamp
A neonatal stethoscope
Three medical oxygen concentrators
Three oxygen splinters for neonates
Two overhead heater lamps
Five fetal dopplers
Your support through fundraisers has made these donations possible.
Addressing Prenatal Care Challenges
A primary issue leading to maternal and infant mortality in Tanzania is the lack of prenatal care, largely due to the difficulty of getting to clinics. For many women, hospitals are several days' walk away, and they often lack the finances for transportation. Many only come to the hospital when they believe their labor has started. Dr. Heriel explained how women rely on their husbands for transport, and many do not understand the urgency or do not have the means to get transportation, forcing women to walk.
Conversations with hospital staff and directors led us to two primary ideas to address this issue:
1. Incentive Program: “Chips”
We are incredibly excited about our incentive program, inspired by our amazing Board President Alexis Thompson. The idea revolves around “chips,” special tokens given to mothers when they come for prenatal appointments. If their husband also comes, they get two chips. If the husband attends the birth, they get an additional ten chips. This model has worked in Uganda, where families can use the chips to buy supplies from the hospital “store,” such as diapers, formula (if needed), baby clothes, and postpartum supplies.
What we love about this idea is that funding a resource closet is financially feasible for Wombs of the World to take on. It is much easier for us to purchase hundreds of diapers instead of medical equipment. Our participants can also bring supplies from home to contribute to the clinic store. When this idea was shared with hospital directors, doctors, and nurses, everyone loved it, and we all had this collective moment of “how had we not thought of this sooner?!”
2. Mobile Clinic
The need for a mobile clinic has been a recurring conversation. Establishing a mobile clinic would ensure that more women receive regular prenatal check-ups, reducing complications during labor and delivery. However, the biggest obstacle is acquiring a suitable vehicle. A new Land Cruiser sold in Tanzania, equipped to handle rough terrain and medical equipment, can cost $150k. When you include the necessary medical equipment and staffing, the total cost is estimated at a quarter of a million dollars.
While this budget is currently beyond our reach, we are exploring creative solutions, such as importing vintage off-roading vans from Japan or securing a vehicle donation from a company. If you have connections or ideas, we are eager to collaborate!
Ways You Can Help:
Sponsor Supplies: Would you like to sponsor supplies for the hospital store or connect us with enterprises willing to donate materials? Please reach out or donate today!! Collectively, this is easily achievable.
Vehicle Donations: Help us find creative solutions for a mobile clinic vehicle. If you have connections (anyone have friends at Toyota??) or resources that could help us advance this vision, we are all ears!
The goal here is that we do not need to reinvent the wheel—the game plan on how to eliminate preventable maternal losses is already laid out (see ICI), we just need to make sure that wheel can navigate all terrains.
Program Changes and Growth
The Tanzania program for our traveling birthworkers is also changing in 2025. We will still run three trips (January, February, and May) with an 11-day itinerary combining hands-on birthwork with cultural immersion. And come next summer (aiming for July), we will roll out our first month-long intensive. The vision is to have a few days of a Swahili intensive, followed by participants taking shifts at the various clinics. We hope to attract medical students and more medical professionals on these trips to share updated educational resources with the hospital staff. Of course, the program will also be open to doulas or other birthworkers who would like to stay for longer!!
Areas Where We Need Support
As we grow, there are several key areas where we really need your support:
Grants:
Funding is essential to keep our projects moving forward. If we can secure proper funding through grants, we might not even need a vehicle donation from Toyota. We would love to bring a grant writer onto the team. If you have expertise in this area, please reach out.
Mentorship:
Despite Wombs of the World feeling so big, our core team is still very small. Jenny and I are the only full-time people running everything behind the scenes. We are still in the early stages of building our on-the-ground teams in Ecuador, Tanzania, Mexico, and South Africa.
A big shout-out to Kai Njeri for being our boots on the ground in Tanzania, and to Maria Jose Benitez for bringing her magic touch to everything she does with us in Ecuador. Their work, along with the guidance and feedback from our wonderful Board of Directors, is what makes our mission and vision come to life.
However, we could use more brilliant minds and hearts on the team. While we are not in a position to hire full-time right now, we would certainly like to! Would you like to join our advisory board and/or be a volunteer and help us develop more of these ideas? Apply to join our Council of Crones HERE.
Final Thoughts
I am inspired. I teeter between complete demoralization about the state of the world and overwhelming excitement about this movement I find myself in.
We are a powerful collective of birthworkers, and we serve the most impactful population there is: Mothers. Can we unite all women, all mothers, to demand better care and better resources? Can we create a world where birth is honored and not accepted as a traumatic, dehumanized event that happens behind closed doors?
This is a powerful time to be alive, and I am so grateful for all of you who have read this whole message.
Please reach out with any thoughts, feedback, or resources.
With Endless Gratitude,
Charlotte & the Wombs of the World Team
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