In the month of June 7 babies were admitted (including 4 orphans, 2 babies with critically sick mothers and 1 baby whose mother was not producing breast milk). Nurses made 154 visits to babies and women. Three women were enrolled in the Mother Care program (1 with severe anemia and 2 with peritonitis).
Our board member Dehlia Ramos Gonzalez MSN RN traveled to Malawi this June. This was Dehlia’s 5th trip to Malawi. During her two week visit, Dehlia traveled with the nurses to home visits, witnessing their work, learning about their challenges and assisting them to improve their skills, their data collection, and patient plans. Dehlia was also present for a reunion of Joyful Motherhood graduates. It was an emotional day for everyone present and a strong affirmation of both the necessity of the work and the quality of the services provided by JM.
Program Graduates in their words….
(1) I am Eness. I am here because I was sick in October 2018 after giving birth through Caesarian section. I was seriously ill and stayed for a month without eating. The doctors referred the baby to Joyful Motherhood. I was really stressed because I was so sick that I couldn’t breastfeed. Health workers gave up on my life and my baby’s life until the JM staff came and advocated for my care. Through them the health workers continued to care for me and saved my life and my kid’s life. [JM staff] have positively impacted me, my life and my child’s life. They have also strengthen the family relationships. They encouraged me during the visits; they take part in our life. They mostly visit me and assess my child and they are continuing to support him.
(2) My name is Belita, I am 23 years of age. I joined the program when I just delivered in October 2018. Then I developed sepsis. I had a distended abdomen and doctors helped me, They removed 4 liters of pus from my abdomen. But, I was unable to breastfeed because of my condition until one day the doctors told my mum that she should meet the Joyful Motherhood staff. They enrolled my daughter (Sisilia) in the program. At first I had a lot of concerns due to my condition… how would my child be cared for if I died? Every child needs a mother for care. This encouraged me to continue participating in the program for the support. I expressed my concerns to the JM staff and I was told to be patient. I am grateful because is child is well. There was/is no any other program in our community apart JM. They also gave me some money which I used to start a small business. This has greatly improved our life at home though we still struggle. At least now we are able to support ourselves with soap and some clothing.
