NGO donates maternity kits to disadvantaged rural mothers

Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau

A non governmental organisation, Women Alive, has started rolling out a programme to help mothers living in difficult circumstances to adequately prepare for the delivery of new babies around Beitbridge district.

So far, the organisation is delivering maternity preparation kits to mothers at Mtetengwe, Shabwe, Dite and Zezani rural clinic.

Women Alive founder and chairperson, Miss Mitchel Mapfumo said they were targeting to cover all the clinics in the district’s rural component.

She said they were in the midst of mobilising resources which will be distributed in phases to the beneficiaries.

“We have noted that at times women in the remote areas are having challenges when it comes to preparing for the delivery for babies,” said Miss Mapfumo.

“So, as an organisation, we have decided to close that gap through resource mobilisation and distribution.

Our focus now is on delivering maternity kits to help those mothers who would have had challenges preparing for post-natal services soon after delivering new babies.”

She said they were working with a number of organisations to ensure that the plight of rural women is addressed where issues of access to primary health care are concerned.

Miss Mapfumo said they were looking at increasing the donations with time based on the context on the ground.

She said maternity kits contained mostly key clothing and medical items which are critical for use by the new mothers and their babies.

“In the first phase, we are reaching out to women at Mtetengwe (Ward 6), Shabwe (Ward 15), Zezani (Ward 10) and Dite (Ward 2),” said Miss Mapfumo.

“The number of the beneficiaries and nature of help will gradually increase as we gather more information on the community needs.

“In addition, the maternity kits are packaged to cater for both male and female babies”

It is understood that a total of between 350 and 400 babies are delivered under Beitbridge district every month.

Receiving the donation, Mtetengwe Clinic’s Sister In charge, Kemelo Wadenga-Moyo said the donation was timely especially for those mothers delivering babies in winter without adequate resources.

She said they were handling an average of 20 baby deliveries at the clinics per month at the clinic.

“We cater for a huge area which include resettled farmers in ward 14 and communities along the highway between Mtetengwe and Mazunga.

“From experience, we have noted that some new mothers come to deliver without critical items including hats, nappies, and medical kits. Donations like these will help us to cover that gap,” she said.

Women from Mtetengwe are said they were grateful for the help and the opening of the clinic four years ago, that has helped address some of their health related challenges.

“The opening of this clinic and the donation will help minimise maternity related challenges,” said Mrs Rosemary Moyo.

Another new mother, Mrs Mpho Tlou said they were grateful that the Government and its partners were helping communities to absorb some service delivery challenges.

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