Fieldnotes - Spring 2024

Improving health for mothers and children in TANZANIA

By Freddy Urembo

East Africa

Globally almost 800 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth every day, and a maternal death occurs almost every two minutes.* Most maternal deaths—almost 95 percent—occur in developing countries.

Tanzania is one country where the maternal mortality rate is high. With limited resources, deteriorated facilities, and an alarming shortage of health professionals, many vulnerable families–especially in rural

communities–face challenges accessing proper health care services, and few pregnant women are being attended to by a health worker during delivery.

According to the World Health Organization, health system failures, limited access to education, and harmful gender norms that result in a low prioritization of the rights of women and girls, including their right to safe, quality and affordable health services, are major drivers behind maternal deaths.

Prayers for East Africa

by Barbara Kayanja

• As East Africa continues to struggle with the impacts of extreme weather—from long seasons of drought to devastating floods —pray for a calming of weather systems.

• Women are killed at an alarming rate in Kenya; pray for God’s protection for all women and guidance for leaders as they seek solutions for ending gender-based violence.

• Praise God for his grace that allows World Renew East Africa and our partners to work together to extend his love to communities struggling with hunger and poverty.

1,997 farmers in Kenya were trained on nutritious foods and vegetables in the last year, thanks to compassionate people like you.

World Renew is working closely with the government of Tanzania to strengthen the availability of quality reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health services in three villages located in the Geita region in northwestern Tanzania by training and equipping Community Health Workers (CHWs) to bring services closer to the communities. CHWs visit expectant and new mothers and share their knowledge on proper health and nutrition practices, helping the women to take better care for themselves and their babies.

Community Health Worker Perpetua Gervas shares, "I am feeling so motivated and inspired to see the number of children's and mothers' lives that I have been saving in my

village because of my frequent household visits and providing knowledge to those women..."

CHWs are the front-line health workers for World Renew’s health programs in Tanzania, providing effective, strong, and sustainable public and primary healthcare services to women and girls who would otherwise have no access to health care.

Thank you for your gifts that help World Renew to provide training to CHWs and hope to pregnant women and new mothers from it.”

*Based on a 2020 United Nations report

Addressing a taboo topic in SENEGAL

By Esther Kuhn

West Africa

In Senegal, domestic violence is often regarded as normal, and discussions about how bodies and relationships change during adolescence are considered taboo, so cases of abuse go unreported, and women and girls stay trapped in abusive relationships. To help change the story of gender injustice, World Renew has implemented an Adolescent Health and Rights program in Senegal’s capital, Dakar.

Through the program, young people, both male and female, participate in a 32-lesson course and learn about positive relationships

with friends, relatives, community members and romantic partners. The one-year curriculum gives youth a safe space to discuss proper hygiene, protecting their health, and abstinence before marriage, and helps them to recognize and learn how to end cycles of abuse. An important feature of the program is that every one of the 32 lessons is completed when the participants have a discussion with their parents about what they learned.

Prior to participating, Fatou hadn’t been focused on her studies, but her mother, Ndèye,

says that during her year in the program, Fatou’s behaviour changed. “My daughter shared what she learned about the menstrual cycle, early sex, and marriage. I noticed that she became mature, calmer, and more devoted to her studies. She reduced her dating and prioritized her studies.” Ndèye shares that seeing these changes makes her extremely optimistic about the future of the children who take part in the program and that she and other mothers thank the program leaders for engaging the teens and “pointing them in the right direction.”

Another mother, Aminata, says that she also saw positive changes in her daughters, Fama and Aida. “Fama told me that the instructor in the program encourages the girls to focus on their studies. I understand that this is the reason for this great change,” Aminata explains.

“I thank the initiators of the Adolescent Health and Rights Program and pray for them and encourage them to continue the program.”

Last year, generosity like yours made it possible for 5,174 people in Niger to participate in health training or receive health education.

Prayers for West Africa

by Harouna Issaka

• Pray that the region experiences rainy seasons blessed with consistent rain so that crops thrive and harvests are bountiful.

• Pray for peace in West Africa and for God’s wisdom, courage, and protection for World Renew staff and our partners as we work to share Christ’s hope.

• Praise God that children kidnapped in Nigeria on March 7 have been rescued; pray for the release of all hostages and that all are healed from the scars of this trauma.

Moving on and sharing hope after trauma in ZAMBIA

By United Church of Zambia

Southern Africa

Tina Siamujemu, 26, a mother of four, lives in Zambia, where an estimated 43 percent of married women experience physical violence at the hands of their husbands. Through Self-Help Groups, World Renew with our partner, the United Church of Zambia, is working to change the story of gender injustice. Tina, a participant in a Self-Help Group, was willing to share her story.

Tina says, “After I got married in 2007, I was abused physically, verbally, and emotionally. My husband beat me and insulted me. He used whatever money he worked for on alcohol and on his girlfriends.” With no financial support from her husband, Tina, who worked as a housemaid, struggled to support her family. To add to her struggles, she says, “He would follow me to work to beat me up. Things got worse each day.” But Tina did not give up.

To better support her family, Tina started her own business making snack chips to sell. But her husband’s violence continued and, during one of his outbursts, he destroyed the supplies and equipment Tina used to make the snacks. He beat Tina in public, even attacking her at church. “I developed high blood pressure, and the children were all traumatized,” Tina says.

Finally, drawing on strength from her SelfHelp Group, Tina got the courage to seek a divorce and find some peace for herself and her children. “I decided to sue for divorce because I could not stand the abuse, torture, and pressure,” she says. But Tina’s courage didn’t stop there.

Child marriage is another form of genderbased violence in Zambia, and because of what Tina had learned through the Self-Help Group, she intervened when her 14-year-old niece got pregnant. “The parents wanted to force her into marriage, but I encouraged them to take her back to school. She has a right to education,” Tina says. Thank you for your gifts that are helping women like Tina to change the story of gender injustice.

Prayers for Southern Africa

by Steve Sywulka

• In response to food shortages brought on by insufficient rain, the government of Malawi has initiated food distributions. Please pray for rain and for an end to the food shortages.

• Zambia has recently declared a national disaster due to the lack of rainfall. Pray for rain and God’s provision for farming families.

• Pray for wisdom for World Renew Southern Africa staff and our partners as we work through challenges and uncertainties.

In Malawi, 616 participants in 49 different groups completed trauma healing lessons in the last year, thanks to gifts like yours.

Recognizing God's purpose in HONDURAS

By Rolando Pinzon

Latin America

Deysi Vaquedano lives in the Flor del Campo community in Honduras with her husband, Nelson, and their two children, Anderson and Modesto. The family participates in the Strong Communities program facilitated by World Renew’s local partner, Asociacion Para una Sociedad mas Justa (ASJ).

After noticing a lump on one of her breasts, Deysi decided it would go away in time. Then

she attended a Strong Communities meeting at which medical students discussed the early detection of breast cancer and the steps to take if one found a suspicious lump. After hearing the students, Deysi decided she would no longer ignore the lump in her breast and visited the nearby Community Health Center. She was immediately referred to the San Felipe Hospital for a consultation at which she was scheduled for a biopsy.

The financial costs she incurred going to the health center and the consultation were extremely worrying for Deysi. Her family struggled to meet their basic needs, and she felt hopeless about coming up with the money she needed to cover the cost of the biopsy. She shared her worries with the Strong Communities program staff and was grateful when they worked to cover the cost of the surgery. She felt even more blessed when the results came back negative—she did not have breast cancer. "God is my rock, my strength, and my savior, and we must always trust that he is working on our behalf, even though we are in times of tribulation," Deysi shared.

"If I had not entered the Strong Communities program, I would not have received that information and been supported financially and psychologically to perform the biopsy. Many times I doubted, and I felt bad and alone, but we believe that all God does is with a purpose, and my family has faith that he will continue to bless us,” she said with a smile.

Prayers for Latin America

by Corstiaan van Aalsburg

• As violence and economic instability continue to plague the island nation, please pray for God’s peace to reign in Haiti.

• Praise God, the work of World Renew in Nicaragua continues to bear fruit, especially the organization of community savings and loan groups.

• A lack of employment opportunities is driving Hondurans to migrate in search of work, often taking dangerous routes; pray for their safety and God’s provision for family members left behind.

In Guatemala, 419 people completed training in conservation agriculture practices in 2023, thanks to generoushearted people like you.

Changing traditional practices to improve health in INDIA

By World Renew India*

Asia

In India, especially in rural areas, inadequate prenatal care and unclean birthing practices have resulted in high maternal and infant mortality rates. Anju is pregnant with her fifth child and wants this pregnancy to be different. She wants to access maternal health care. During previous pregnancies, Anju, who lives in a rural village in eastern India, had followed her community’s tradition regarding medical care during pregnancy. Her family believed that prenatal care was unnecessary—women

in the community had birthed babies for centuries without assistance. Why should they change their traditional practices now?

Anju belongs to the Santal community, a minority group regarded as lower caste in India’s traditional caste system. Santals often have little or no access to health care. World Renew’s partner, EFICOR, works with local community health workers to connect marginalized, rural communities, like the Santal community, to the government health system. This model provides prenatal care to women, many of whom have never received this type of care

As her pregnancy progressed, Anju continued to face opposition from her mother-in-law, regarding prenatal care. EFICOR staff visited Anju’s household and explained to the family the importance of prenatal check-ups and how they would help ensure that Anju and the baby were healthy. With such patient support from the team, Anju’s mother-in-law realized the value of maternal care to the longterm health of her family. Anju underwent her first antenatal check-up and made a commitment that she would deliver her baby at the government hospital.

*For security, author’s name has been omitted. before, at their doorsteps.

my heartfelt thanks to EFICOR for their dedicated efforts to help me realize the importance of maternal health care for my daughter-in-law. I will ensure the best care possible for both the mother and child.” Healthy and happy, Anju now awaits the birth of her baby.

Anju’s mother-in-law says, “I extend

Prayers for Asia

by Ruairidh Waddell

• Pray for God’s provision of essentials for the Rohingya as unrest drives more families out of Myanmar; pray too for those already living as refugees in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh–the world’s largest refugee camp.

• As the government of Laos rolls out a “Visit Laos” tourism campaign, pray that this will help rejuvenate the economy, which has been struggling since the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Pray for God to open doors for World Renew Asia staff and partners so they can extend his love to more people struggling with hunger, poverty, and injustice.

Gifts like yours helped

2,088

families in Bangladesh to learn about, start, or establish a kitchen garden in the last year.

Share Christ’s hope. Give the gift of health.

In many communities where World Renew works around the world, pregnant women are unable to access health care. For some, it is because the nearest health facility is too far away. For others, tradition dictates that the woman give birth at home with only the support of female relatives, who are usually not trained in proper maternal or neonatal health practices.

Care by skilled health professionals before, during, and after childbirth can save the lives of women and newborns.

To help support vulnerable expecting and new mothers, World Renew provides training to local volunteers in proper health and nutrition practices. Through regular visits, these trained volunteers teach good health, hygiene, and nutrition to mothers and monitor the progress of children during the first 1,000 days of life. For $105, you can give a family home visits and training from a skilled health volunteer, to give visit: worldrenew.net/community-health