A very excited Isha Daramy-Kabia called me from Sierra Leone today. Isha is a midwife I met in December through the Global Women’s Leadership Network and the driving force behind our recent excursion to Sierra Leone.
If you ever meet Isha, you’ll learn that it’s just about impossible to turn her down. [...]
“There’s going to be a lot of babies saved, a lot of women saved,” exclaimed Ugandan midwife Esther Madudu, after receiving a Solar Suitcase. Until last month, Esther had been conducting nighttime deliveries holding a cellphone in her teeth. When the Solar Suitcase was installed, Esther immediately put it to good use. Under the newly [...]
Dr. Jacques Sebisaho revealed the power of the Solar Suitcase to save lives this December, when he returned to Idjwi clinic in the DR Congo. The clinic has no power, and when night falls, it is impossible to provide adequate medical care. On this trip, Jacques had a Solar Suitcase, which was quickly [...]
Our November 2011 WE CARE expedition to Northern Nigeria culminated with the installation of three Solar Suitcases in Wudil General Hospital in Kano. We targeted crucial areas in the fight against maternal mortality: The labor and delivery room received lights, a fetal doppler, and mobile phone charging; the operating theatre obtained surgical lighting [...]
Nigeria, November 2011. It’s our ninth day delivering Solar Suitcases to maternal health facilities in Kano and Kaduna states. As we make our way from clinic to clinic, we have been overwhelmed by stories we have heard about the consequences of inadequate lighting on childbirth. It has been heartbreaking to hear midwives describe [...]
One of the things we love about working in other countries is that it gives us an opportunity to train others to become competent with solar electricity. On this trip, in addition to training dozens of health workers to use and maintain the solar suitcase, we are expanding our team with new trainers [...]
Today was magical. Our team left the city of Kano to reach Minjibir General Hospital, where we were scheduled to bring light and power to the Operating Theatre, Maternity Ward, and Labor Room. The staff was excited about our Solar Suitcase training, and quickly assembled a group of midwives, doctors, and hospital administrative [...]
Today I am back in Nigeria – this time in Kano, a city of 10 million people and a maternal mortality rate that robs the lives of 1250 women for every 100,000 live births. I am visiting primary health care centers – the front line of maternity services for women seeking skilled care – [...]
We’ve been conducting research with the clinicians we met in Liberia to learn about their experience using the solar suitcase. The feedback has been uniformly great, as we hear how the suitcases are used to power lights, cell phones, and other devices. Clinicians tell us that it’s easier to see at night and repair lacerations, making obstetric care safer. The solar suitcase has become a source of pride – villagers come to some clinics just to see the bright lights in the maternity rooms.
The Liberia “Light Up a Life” project was formally launched this week when three WE CARE Solar members flew to Liberia to join Dr. Fatorma Bolay of the Liberian Institute of Biomedical Research (LIBR) and Dr. Musu Duworka, of the Liberian Ministry of Health. Our objective was to provide Solar Suitcase trainings and [...]
