dieu merci
Dieu’s father is a teenager as was his mother. Dieu was their first baby. Dieu’s mother died in childbirth from PPH. They had gone to a small mud-built clinic in their village to give birth. However, the midwives and nurses had nothing available to assist in saving the mother’s life.
Dieu’s young father brought Dieu to the Children’s Center at one day old and then returned to his village to bury the love of his life. When Dieu’s father arrived at Sabuli Children’s Center, he was distraught, crying and hardly able to stand. Dieu’s father knew his new baby would not survive without milk. Baby milk formula is not readily available and when it is, it is simply not affordable to most people. A month’s supply might cost a month’s wages.
Dieu is now a healthy and happy baby due to a constant supply of milk formula and care from the mamas at the Center.
THE HOPE
In some situations like this, Sabuli’s prayer and hope is to bring these babies to good health, and to a point where they no longer need milk on a regular basis. The hope is to have them rejoin their father and/or extended family again. Each situation is evaluated carefully and prayerfully.
FUTURE PLANS
Sabuli is working on a long-term solution to the tragic and recurring problem of young women dying in childbirth from PPH (Post-Partum Hemorrhage). This is the leading cause of maternal death. There is no easy solution for this currently in Congo and most developing countries. When a young mother dies in childbirth, not only does the newborn lose their mother, but there are often other children at home who are then at risk of becoming orphans.
HELP IS ON THE WAY - UBT
Along with Congolese physicians, Dr. Ngossa and Dr. Kangawa, and USA physician Dr. Sam Choi, Sabuli is bringing a UBT solution (Uterine Balloon Tamponade) to her homeland. This procedure, developed by physicians at Harvard/Massachusetts General Hospital, will have a significant positive impact on this tragic problem. A USA team traveled to Congo last summer (2018) and introduced this procedure and trained health care workers at Gemena’s General Hospital. Over 100 nurses, doctors, midwives and medical students attended the training and received the 300 UBT kits that were assembled and brought from the USA. Kits were distributed via motorcycle to area villages and mother’s lives are already being saved.
We’ll discuss this and other good news in future blogs on this site.