Posts tagged maternity center

Run For Life Haiti .org

Oct23rd
2012 4 Comments Written by Ryan
This entry is part 1 of 5 in the series Run For Life Series Next »

Would you please take 4 minutes and watch this video

I first met Barry when we came to visit Haiti for the first time.  Barry & his wife Bec were running the Guest House and were looking for someone to take over.  We felt called to the Guest House before ever stepping foot in Haiti.  Here we were in a strange land meeting Australians running the GH in Haiti!  I was thinking, could this get any stranger!

Since that first day, Barry and I have became good friends.  I have come to know his heart for the people of Haiti.  During his time in Haiti he began to start running.  Running and running and running and running…

It was last year that this vision of running coast to coast for maternal health began to spring up in his head.  Though, this is less about him running than it is about him wanting to raise awareness of the problem and what people can do to help.

5 years ago Barry & Bec lost their son Isaac approximately 30 minutes after he was born. They never had the opportunity to hold a living, breathing son.  Their loss is difficult and personal.  This has obviously impacted them and is what fuels Barry’s desire to reduce the  maternal and infant mortality rate in Haiti.

The Run

TRL_7257.jpg Barry McDonald will run across the nation of Haiti in January 2013, a distance of 315 miles covered in 12 days of running. The event is called Run for Life – Haiti.

He has covered over 5,000 kilometers (over 3,000 miles) in three countries training for this event.

The 35-year-old native Australian says:

“The endurance required for the Run for Life is going to be huge – but nothing compared to what women go through here day in and day out.”

Get Involved

Anyone can get involved:

1) Share with others - Click the buttons below to share, share the video above, or share this post.

  

2) Run for the Run - Pick a running event anywhere in the world, register and find sponsors – raising funds for the Run For Life Haiti.

3) Host a party - Organize your own fundraising event – host a dinner or party and invite all of your friends. Many restaurants will provide catering and donate a percentage of the event proceeds.

More ideas on the Run For Life website.

website.jpg

Haiti, Heartline    ,

Marjory is in Labor (Quick Update)

Dec9th
2011 4 Comments Written by Ryan

Marjorie Receiving Gifts for the Baby

You may have noticed in our past blogs of pictures showing off Marjory’s very pregnant state.  She works at the Guest House and has been part of the maternity center’s program.  We have been waiting and waiting… finally, tonight she went into labor.  It could be a short time or a while until the baby comes but Melissa has been pretty excited and brought over Marjory’s favorite smoothie drink!

When people have asked for how they can help – Melissa has found out some helpful things for people to bring down for the expected baby.  I wanted to make sure I updated you all with the news!  For those that know or care what this means – she is 5cm dilated as of right now.

It can be scary to have a baby in Haiti – if you are unfamiliar with the challenges check back at this post.

Melissa, of course, isn’t really pregnant in the picture below but it is pretty funny :-D

Melissa isn't really pregnant but it sure looks funny!

Melissa & Marjorie

———————————- UPDATE ———————————————–

Here is Majorie’s baby born last night just before midnight!

Majorie's Baby

Haiti    ,

Death Rate of Women Giving Birth in Haiti

Nov1st
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Ryan

I have Google alerts setup for articles related to Haiti.  I came across an article which was pretty hefty.  It reminds me of why Melissa and I are here in Haiti and supporting Heartline.

One of the cornerstones to Heartline is the Maternity Center and the programs they provide.  Women can enter the program during their pregnancy.  The women come weekly for monitoring, to receive vitamins, a good meal and an educational class relating to caring for themselves during pregnancy. Here, old wives tales and myths about pregnancy and hormones that can be dangerous to both mom and baby are put to rest.  The baby is then born in the maternity center’s birthing room.

Child birth in Haiti is difficult and many babies don’t make it.  I have heard that many Haitians don’t name their baby until after the first year.  The article I came across points out the dangers of child birth in Haiti:

Most Haitian women give birth at home, attended by matrones — untrained birth attendants — most of whom arrive equipped with only a razor blade, a piece of string and Latex gloves. The result: more women die during childbirth in Haiti than in any other country in the Western Hemisphere… More than triple the number of mothers in Bolivia, which has the next-worst maternal mortality rate.

The article isn’t the first to talk about the difficulty of giving birth in Haiti.  There was another one recently about Haiti women crossing the border to the Dominican Republic to try and give birth.  It is obvious, especially when reading the article, that this need is great.

The Guest House helps fund this amazing project.  By us volunteering our time to help the Guest House we are also helping the Maternity Center.

If you want to learn more, see a quick video or want to help.  You can visit this link to vote for a grant.  It also gives further insight into the project and has a video.

Haiti, Heartline    ,

Feed My Starving Children

Aug16th
2011 6 Comments Written by Ryan

IMG_20110816_110007.jpgFood straight from the Feed My Starving Children factory in Minnesota!  This could be the most nutritious meal they will have during the week.  I had recently volunteered with a group from PTC to pack food at Feed My Starving Children.  I enjoyed seeing the other end where the food is delivered.  You will notice that the eggs have been added to this meal which provide some extra protein for the women.

While over at the Maternity Center today we had our medical insurance application papers filled out by a RN.  Hopefully we can finish appling for medical insurance before the month comes to a close.  Being in Haiti is proving the process to be a little difficult.  Prayer for that would be great.

289022_10150262054031766_691226765_8096867_3538661_o.jpg We have a couple staying with us that are donating a lot of baby slings to the Haitian people.  We get to meet some amazing people.  It is one of the privileges of serving in the role we are in.  Our goal is to provide them with great accommodations and really be a servant to these people while they are visiting in Haiti.

IMG_20110816_175359.jpg Unexpectedly, we are hosting the two new teachers.  Their apartment is not quite ready.  They will be teaching the Livesay and Hendrick’s kids for this next school year.

 

Haiti, Life   

Mari

Jun19th
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Ryan

This is such a sad and real story in Haiti.  I would encourage you to read it.

http://johnmchoul.wordpress.com/2011/06/11/mari/

Heartline is doing such a wonderful job at meeting these women!

Haiti

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