PROJECT #256
Project #256 | Improving Child Health in Sierra Leone
Our Partnership with Rural Health Care Initiative
Sierra Leone was devastated by a brutal civil war in the 1990s and by the Ebola outbreak in 2014-2015. The country and its health care systems have not yet recovered from these events. As a result, the child death rate is high, with one in eight children not living to age 5. In addition, over 30% of children have stunted growth due to malnutrition. Recent studies show that 94% of child deaths in Sierra Leone are preventable with proper health care and nutrition.
One Day’s Wages partnered with Rural Health Care Initiative (RHCI) to improve maternal and child health in Tikonko Chiefdom. Through our partnership, RHCI reached nearly 9,000 children through mobile clinics that offer routine preventative care and treatment for malnutrition. In addition, 576 newborns and their mothers received care from trained health workers who conducted home visits, thereby lowering infant mortality rates. Our partnership also equipped health workers with increased capacity to address maternal and child health concerns, while strengthening the local healthcare systems.
Our Collective Impact
PEOPLE IMPACTED WITH IMPROVED HEALTH, KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS
CHILDREN RECEIVED MEDICAL TREATMENT OR HEALTHCARE SERVICES
NURSES & COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS WITH INCREASED CAPACITY
Meet Martha
I had my first child at the age of 15. At that time, I dropped out of school. My husband died in a road accident when I was 27; we had 5 children together. I remarried and was surprised when I delivered triplets, since I was expecting to have twins. The triplets’ names are Sao, Gbassay and Ginna. Caring for triplets is very challenging for my husband and me. We are poor and daily survival is difficult.
With the help of the One Days Wages grant, RHCI provided much needed support with home visits from nurses and community health workers. They did regular visits to make sure the babies were well cared for. They provided food to help me eat well and to have a healthy balance to breastfeed the babies. Formula, transportation and medications were provided. The support received has helped us improve our quality of life and made our triplets grow healthy and strong.
Thank you for making this possible!
Our movement is grassroots, to us that not only means the work on the ground is led by local leaders with the support of the community, but it also means that we raise the funds for our projects through everyday donors just like you. In addition to all the donors that gave $25, $100, or $250 and the campaigners that ran a race or donated their birthday to raise funds, we also want to thank our generous business, school, and faith sponsors who believed in our work and joined the movement.
If you want to support future projects like this you can make a donation to the fund below.
One Day's Wages is a grassroots movement of people, stories, and actions to alleviate extreme global poverty
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