Once just a dream, now a reality.
On Sunday afternoon, the Engeye Maternity Center delivered its first baby. A healthy baby and mother made the clinic a happy place Monday morning. I wasn’t there for the birth, but I wanted to reflect on how we got to this big day for Engeye.
The maternity center was the dream of former Minerva Fellows Joe Hinderstein and Charlotte Bloom in 2015, and subsequent fellows Bri, Matt, Vito, and Justin have devoted a large part of their time here to making the dream a reality. From fundraising and marketing the project to picking out furniture, past fellows have played a role in many aspects of the construction. The maternity center currently employs two full-time midwives who are available around the clock, has multiple rooms for deliveries and for mothers and babies to rest comfortably. And, last but certainly not least, the maternity center is home to the nicest latrine I’ve seen so far.
So why is this a big deal??
Did you know…complications from pregnancy and childbirth is the leading cause of death among females aged 15-18 in low-income nations. What we think of as a special, momentous occasion in ones life can often be life-threatening in rural Uganda. In the Untied States, 1 in 4,800 women will die of complications resulting from pregnancy; in Sub-Saharan Africa, it’s 1 in 22.
Woah.
But today is a good day and thanks to Engeye, quality, affordable maternity services have come to Ddegeya and the surrounding Lwengo District. Engeye already does so much to help the community but this project vastly expands the services that we are able to offer and will undoubtedly improve the overall health of the community. Quality maternal care has been previously available in the cities and larger towns…to the few that can afford it. But this expansion will help the villagers who need it the most: those with pre-existing conditions of concern and those who would have otherwise been delivering at home.
Nick and I are lucky to be here to experience Engeye fight back against the statistics by providing quality antenatal and postnatal care, safely delivering babies and caring for their mothers, and providing immunizations.
As John, the founder of the clinic, said, “We’ve been waiting ten years for this baby!”
Check out the kid that made Engeye history and cheers to the our new baby boy!
The Pearl of Africa 
This is so exciting! Thanks for sharing! Congratulations to the Mom and her family and here at Union we would like to welcome the new baby into our global community! Congrats to Engeye for the successful and healthy birth of its first baby! Amazing work done by the clinic staff and am so proud of the fellows who have been a part of this project to help make it a reality.
LikeLike
“Engeye already does so much to help the community but this project vastly expands the services that we are able to offer and will undoubtedly improve the overall health of the community.” – I love that you refer to Engeye as WE and not THEY – you have become a member of the Engeye family…
LikeLike