For those of you who like to give items, we have a couple specific needs (thermoses and graduated beakers) and an organization (www.MalawiProject.org) which is generously donating shipping to Malawi. Please note the shipping address on the wish list and clearly ship to African Mothers Health Initiative. Donations received by the end of the month will be sent to Malawi.
Why thermoses and beakers? About a third of the babies enrolled in our program at any one time are orphans and they need formula to survive. The homes of our beneficiaries are basic and families live well below the poverty line. Many households cannot afford soap. Most of the homes do not have running water. Some homes do not have easy access to potable water. Most guardians must walk to either a borehole or a stream to fetch water, carry it back. The women then use firewood – also gathered by hand – boil the water, then finally use this clean water to prepare formula. Because the clean water costs so much in labor and is also absolutely necessary to ensure the baby’s health, we want them to have a place to store the water (thermos). We also discourage the use of bottles and sippy cups because they are difficult to clean. Rims on bottles and small holes in sippy cups easily accumulate bacteria which leads to diarrheal illness. Thus, we supply each family with a graduated beaker that they can use to safely and accurately use to prepare formula.
If you would like to send a thermos or beaker to a baby in Malawi, please visit our Amazon wish list here and ship it to: African Mothers Health Initiative 2421 Golfside Dr. Lebanon, IN 46052-8176.
(If you regularly make purchases from Amazon and would like Amazon to donate to us, please use https://smile.amazon.com and select African Mothers Health Initiative as your supported charity.)