A Motor for Mothers

Can you imagine being in labor and struggling, perhaps having life-threatening bleeding or complications and not being in a hospital? How about having to walk during that time to get help? Many of us in the West can't fathom what that would be like, but for women in villages along Ghana's Lake Volta, it gets even worse.

Can you imagine what it would be like to be in labor and in great pain, and have to balance yourself in a tiny fishing boat for at least two hours while someone rowed you to the hospital?

When women go into labor in the village of Bakpakope, Mekporwovor, a stout man with a warm smile and quick laugh, goes into action. He is certified to deliver babies, and he has a certificate hanging on the mud wall of his hut to prove it. He has delivered children for nearly all of the families in his village and in several miles surrounding it.

Sometimes things go wrong. Like any birth situation, things happen that can endanger the life of the mother or the child. Sometimes women's narrow hips make natural birth difficult or impossible. Anemia can cause serious bleeding issues. Many things can happen, and Mekporwovor has seen many bad days.

When a woman has a problem giving birth, he must walk with her down to the lake. This alone can be difficult, but then he has to get her into his boat and row her across the lake to the hospital in Kete Krachi. It is only there that the mother and the child have a chance to survive.

Mekporwovor and the village elders have asked us for help. They need an outboard motor to attach to Mekporwovor's boat so that he can get women to the hospital faster and more safely. A good motor costs just under $1,000 USD, though, and there is no way he or anyone else in the village can afford it.

It won't just be women and children who will benefit. Last weekend, Stephen, who was the only teacher at the primary school for years, had a medical emergency. He collapsed after waking up in the morning, and he, too, had to be rowed across the lake to the small hospital in Kete Krachi. He died on the way to the hospital.

We need your help to make this small but significant contribution to the people of Bakpakope. We are doing many other things in this area to empower people to help themselves, but this is an immediate need that can save lives right away.

We will be in Bakpakope for all of November and December of 2011, and will be overseeing this project (and others) from beginning to end. If you are moved to help save the lives of mothers and babies, please help us make a difference. Every little bit helps!

Click here to donate and to see a video about what we are doing in this area:
http://www.compassionatejourneys.com/Bakpakope_Project_3GZ.html

We are a United States 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible. We also welcome volunteers who would like to help! Please see our website, www.compassionatejourneys.com, for details.

Thank you for caring!

Amanda Christmann Larson is Director of Compassionate Journeys, a 501(c)(3) non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to bringing resources and awareness to empower people in Ghana, West Africa. In the summer of 2012, Amanda and friends will be riding bicycles from San Diego, California to St. Augustine, Florida with Babes Blocking Traffic to spread awareness about child trafficking. Visit www.compassionatejourneys.com and www.babesblockingtraffic.com for more information.