Christian Aid Week starts on 13 May and this years focus is on maternal health in Sierra Leone, sharing the key message of All mums should live.
Church volunteers have collected donations during Christian Aid Week since it beganmore than 60 years ago to help people living in extreme poverty to protectthemselves when disaster strikes.
SierraLeone is the most dangerous place in the world to become a mum as they lack thefunds to provide basic healthcare. Pregnancy and childbirth is a time of fearfor women; there is only one midwife per ten thousand people. Many women cannotafford to travel the long distances to hospitals, and consequently give birthat home with aid from traditional birthing attendants. Complex births sometimeschallenge the attendants limited skill-set and many women lose their babiesand sometimes their lives.
Womenwho fear giving birth at home often walk to hospital when labour pains begin.Jebbehs sister was one of these women; sadly, she didnt make it to hospitaland she died with her baby by the side of the road. Jebbeh is expecting her ownbaby, and she is scared.
ThisChristian Aid Week, funds will be raised to help women like Jebbeh give birthsafely. Christian Aid want to fund health clinics, health worker training,sanitation training and equipment, to make giving birth a time of celebration,not fear.
