Expectant mother practicing writing
Each month, over 20 expecting mothers come from far away villages to one of RHCI’s two Birth Waiting Homes awaiting delivery. It is at these Homes that women receive around the clock care and medical monitoring from one of our skilled nurses. It is at these Homes that women have their own bed to rest in, 3 meals each day to fill their bellies and transportation to safely bring them to and from the clinic for delivery when their baby is ready to enter this world. It is at these Homes that after birth mothers proudly show their baby’s face to their newly met friends at the Home.
Correspondingly, each month these 20+ women leave the Homes with so much more than the rest, medical monitoring, transportation and meals necessary to welcome a newborn child into their lives. They leave with a wealth of knowledge on how to care for themselves and their newborn. Women are trained at the Home by nurses, midwives, and nutritionists on health education. Women learn the essentials about hygiene, nutrition, breastfeeding, newborn care, physical wellness and family planning. Often illiterate, the women that stay at the Homes learn through song, dance, storytelling and with photographs as shown in the video below. Women will even walk through the garden on-site of the Mbao-mi Home to learn best gardening practices to grow their own nutritious foods in their home gardens when they return.
Our hardworking staff have listened to the needs and desires of past beneficiaries of the Birth Waiting Homes and in past years expanded educational services to skills training such as tailoring, tie-dye, and social activities. The Mbao-mi Home has 6 sewing machines where women are instructed by professional tailors on how to make their own baby kits and clothing.
Woman holding her child learning to sew
Woman at the Home practicing writing
Furthermore, women have expressed a desire to learn to write during their stay at the Homes. Photographed are women participating in sample writing activities with materials provided by RHCI. For many of these women, this is their first time holding a pencil. As we continue to improve the lives of women and children in the Tikonko community, we remember the importance of empowering and educating the very women we serve. Each woman will return to their home village with not only a new life of their healthy baby, but with knowledge and skills that they will hold with them as they raise their newborn child.