Hello Friends, Family, and other Folks who come across this blog

You are invited to join us in creating change for women and their families in Africa.  Your donations will be used to provide life saving medical supplies to childbearing families.

Marijke and Aly are two baby catchers on their way to Zambia to work and learn with the midwives at a rural hospital in Katete.  

Our intention is to raise money and/or supplies

to support the work at St Francis Hospital and enrich the lives of childbearing women and their families.

Imagine if you were born in Zambia...

~ your life expectancy is less than 40 years of age

~ AIDS will claim tens of thousands of your countries people this year; you will feel this loss

~ maternal death rate is 750 per 100 000  (in Canada it is 5 per 100 000)

~ of the women who die during childbirth, 80% will die from a preventable cause

~ less than four out of every ten pregnant women you know will have a skilled birth attendant at their birth; compare that to 100% of women in Canada who will be supported by a skilled attendant to ensure a safe childbirth experience

~ under 5 death rate is 182 per 1000 (in Canada it is 6 per 1000)

~ access to education and healthcare will reduce the number of parentless families in your community

~ if you are a child that is motherless you are 4 times as likely to die

~ sterile gloves and oxytocin (a hormone-stimulating drug that effectively reduces maternal bleeding after delivery) are inexpensive supplies that can be purchased with a few small donations

"The darkest thing about Africa has always been our ignorance of it." ~ George Kimble

Please consider donating either money or supplies.  Even change will go a long way and there is always change that can be put forth.  This charity is awesome; 100% of donations will reach the hands of those who we're hoping to support!  Every minute of every day, a woman dies needlessly from pregnancy or childbirth, most in the developing countries.  They need what we can provide so please join together and support some change.

If you really feel you have no change to spare, please support our efforts by forwarding the project information to friends/family who can contribute.

The Deadline for contributions is June 5th, 2008!

WAYS TO CONTRIBUTE

Send cheques by mail to:

 Box 70 Naramata BC V0H 1N0 (Payable to Alyson Jones or Marijke de Zwager)

Call Alyson at 250 496 4321 or email either Aly (alysonbabycatcher@gmail.com) or Marijke (marijkebabycatcher@gmail.com) to find out where to drop off donations

Empty out your dusty piggy bank, pack that money in a can, wrap it, and send it to us at the address above

Find out more:

WHO website @ http://www.who.int/countries/zmb/en/

Women Deliver @ http://www.womendeliver.org/

University of BC Midwifery program @ www.midwifery.ubc.ca