Uganda Medical Mission Trip -- Mama Kits
PROJECT MAMA KIT UGANDA
We are a small medical mission team travelling to Jinja, Uganda, Africa this March/April. The primary purpose of our trip is to provide medical aid and care for pregnant women. Specifically, we will provide Mama Kits to women who are unable to access proper medical care during childbirth. The kits and other much-needed medical supplies will be distributed at crisis pregnancy centers, clinics, and in remote villages in the Jinja area.
Mama Kits are an all-in-one kit containing the basic necessities for a clean and safe delivery, including plastic sheeting, razor blades, cotton wool (gauze pad), soap, gloves, cord ties, a child health card, and an instruction sheet in English and Luganda. Each kit is sealed so that it remains sterile until opened.
In Uganda, a mother-to-be must purchase and bring to the hospital or clinic all necessary supplies at the time of delivery. Women who do not have them are often turned away. In some cases, a Mama Kit is offered upon arrival, but for a cost of approximately $20 (nearly 3 times the normal cost). This may not sound like much to us. However, to a Ugandan it is significant, and often cost prohibitive given that the average annual income is less than $600 per year.
Most women cannot afford these supplies and will, therefore, not seek medical care. The result: infections or other complications in delivery, and often death for the mother and her baby. According to UNICEF, 430 mothers of every 100,000 live births die from pregnancy or birth complications -- that's an average of 20 women per day. This is 33 times higher than in the United States, and unfortunately, the death rate is far worse due to significant problems in collecting data.
For a simple gift of $7 you can provide a Mama Kit to one pregnant woman, giving her the opportunity to safely give birth to her newborn infant, either at a clinic or hospital, or at home if this is her only option. Help us in our effort to minister to these women in need! For about the same price as a Starbucks coffee, you can make a life-saving difference for a Ugandan woman and her unborn child!
No contribution is too small. Will you partner with us to save lives? Will you join in this important work? Say "yes" to Project Mama Kit!
Thank you and may you be blessed,
Dr. Jon, Dr. Steve, Nurses Erica , Michelle, and Jen, Counselor Pam, Chad, and the rest of the team
