Dear Friends,
Happy New Year. I pray that 2021 brings you and yours many blessings.
In early March last year, just before the world changed, we celebrated with partners and communities in Tanzania. You supported a project that brought better maternal care practices and facilities to two very large, rural districts near Lake Victoria. One highlight was the construction of a new operating theatre. We had the chance to speak to some of the women who have already been helped in this new facility. “I feel proud, safe, and confident,” one woman said.
Now, women can avoid a sometimes-impassable 53 km trip to the nearest referral hospital when an emergency occurs.
I also want to thank you for your sacrificial gifts this year. You went the extra mile to support women who faced life-threatening maternal health emergencies compounded by COVID-19 travel restrictions. Your support helped several women access life-saving emergency surgery. You also provided hard-to-come-by PPE to protect health-care workers from COVID-19.
COVID-19 also challenged Save the Mothers as an organization- we lost our annual Walk and Gala. But you were there for mothers. I am grateful for your generous response to my emergency appeal. Thanks to you, Save the Mothers programs can continue.
I am grateful to our volunteers. Some organized a personal fundraiser in place of participating in the Walk. Others have tirelessly supported our new e-store initiative. They have made sure that masks, books, water bottles and more reach you in a timely fashion. I am amazed by our committed volunteers, one and all.
With 2021 just around the corner, I am excited to reveal how we will help even more mothers next year.
- MPHL GOES ONLINE
The pandemic taught us a lot about remote ways of working. In the new year, we will explore how to move our Save the Mothers Masters of Public Health online. We know this program is powerful- with more leaders accessing this learning from across the African continent and beyond, the impact could be exponential. - TRAINING MIDWIVES AND NURSES IN MATERNAL HEALTH CARE
Thanks to a new grant from Stronger Together, we will be training even more nurses and midwives in appropriate maternal care practices. This work will happen in some of the most remote places in Uganda. - STORIES FROM GAME CHANGERS
We will continue to share how your investment developing leaders continue to bring lasting improvements to maternal health-care across Uganda, Tanzania, DR Congo, and all the places where our Alumni live and work.
I hope these successes put a smile on your face. You have supported some incredible work this year. I am grateful for all that you have done.
Blessings for a Safe and Healthy New Year,
Deborah Mensah
Executive Director