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In July, five of us will attempt the three peaks challenge to raise money for the charity Maternity Worldwide.  For those of you who don't know, this involves climbing the three highest peaks in the UK in 24 hours.  We will be starting in Scotland with Ben Nevis (4,403 feet), before driving to the Lake District to tackle Scafell Pike (3,210 feet) and finally onto Mount Snowdon (3560 feet) in Wales. It will be a tough mental and physical challenge and we would be grateful for any amount you are able to sponsor us, it really is for an excellent cause as you will see below.

About Maternity Worldwide

Access to decent maternity and newborn services should be accessible to all women. In Africa 1 in 16 women die in pregnancy or childbirth and in some parts of Ethiopia it is as high as 1 in 7.  Here in the United Kingdom it is only 1 in 4,600. They die from bleeding, infection, fitting and obstructed labour and most of these deaths could be avoided by very simple and cheap measures. Death in pregnancy is not only a personal tragedy; it leaves a wake of misery in the community, older infants weakened and other children not provided for any longer. However, this could be stopped.

Maternity Worldwide is a small, innovative, community-led organisation with activities currently concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ongoing programmes and plans include:

·         Integrated Maternal Health programme in Gimbie, Ethiopia: MW set up one facility in Gimbie town to provide comprehensive obstetric care and 4 rural facilities providing basic care; health education has been provided in 40 kebeles (villages) with over 100,000 attendees in the first 2 year period; 40 women’s income generating groups were created serving 1,200 women; 16 nurses have been trained as skilled birth attendants and 11 practical workers to assist them.

·         West Wollega Strategy: This is an expansion of the Gimbie Project, Ethiopia, to include 3 additional hospitals and associated rural clinics, improved communication, and community development. This would allow a population of nearly 5 million to have access to improved maternity services.

·         Assessments into maternal health and the challenges to achieving safe motherhood goals in Central and Upper River Divisions of the Gambia(2006), Masaka region of Uganda (2008), and Sierra Leone (2009). M W will prepare recommendations and will then work with local partners to develop projects designed around the local needs of the population.

http://www.maternityworldwide.org/ .

We are aiming to raise a minimum of £1,500 in sponsorship so anything you are able to give will be gratefully received.  Just to give you an idea of where your money will go:

£1 pays for antibiotics for a full course of treatment to prevent infection post childbirth

£5 pays for IV drugs and fluid for a caesarean section

£15 is the cost of a safe birth in the Maternity Unit at Gimbie Hospital

£40 is the cost of a caesarean section

£100 buys resources and aids for community Health Education

£500 provides the annual salary or a junior midwife

£600 provides vital radio links to and from outlying clinics with the central hospital

£1,000 pays for vital equipment to upgrade a clinic

£1,500 supports a local person through 1 year midwifery training

 

PS: And for the record we have paid our own way on this challenge so ALL that you give will go directly to MW!

 

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