Recently, Begom saved the life of a newborn child in Bangladesh. While amazing in and of itself this fact becomes truly mind-blowing when you realize that two businesses, 59 churches, hundreds of individuals, and the entire country of Canada helped her do it.

Begom is a community health volunteer in rural Bangladesh where access to quality health care is limited, facilities are often inaccessible, infant deliveries most often occur at home assisted by untrained birth attendants, and traditional beliefs can be a barrier to maternal and newborn health practices.

Through World Renew, she received 15 days of training on maternal nutrition, prenatal care, and child health that gave her the skills she needs to protect the lives and well-being of women and children in her community. This program was funded by the Canadian government and also supported by individuals as well as churches across Canada which held “baby showers” or offerings to support Maternal Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) over the past 3 years.

In June 2010, Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, made a commitment at the G-8 summit to improve maternal, newborn and child health in developing countries and reduce the number of preventable deaths. As part of this commitment, the government of Canada pledged nearly $1 million to World Renew to carry out MNCH programming in Bangladesh and Malawi between October 2011 and April 2015. The condition for this funding, however, was that World Renew would have to raise one quarter – about $230,000 – from Canadian individuals.

Two businesses in Alberta kicked off a fundraising campaign for this MNCH program by hosting a “Charity Day” in their stores in February 2012. On their Charity days, Park Lighting in Edmonton raised $48,000 and Cartwright Lighting in Calgary raised $35,338 for World Renew. Several individuals also made gifts, which more than covered the first year of World Renew’s funding obligations.

Next came the baby shower idea. In the Spring of 2012, World Renew staff member, Beth Terpstra, put together a package of materials that would make it possible for churches to host a “baby shower” unlike any other. Instead of gathering to celebrate the life of a new baby in their community, these Baby Showers encouraged people to learn about the health challenges that women and children face around the world. 

While there were still activities, games, and even cake – each part of the “baby shower” helped participants learn and inspired them to action. At the end of each shower, participants were invited to make a donation towards World Renew’s MNCH programs.

To help spread the word about these exciting “baby showers”, long-time World Renew supporter, Evelyn Oudyk volunteered to call every Christian Reformed Church in Canada to encourage them to get involved. Her efforts worked.

Over the past three and a half years, 59 congregations agreed to host a baby shower or schedule an offering for World Renew’s MNCH programs. Combined with the funds from the Charity Day as well as donations through World Renew’s gift catalog, these events raised a total of $289,664 for World Renew’s MNCH program, which was matched 3:1 by the Canadian government.

As a result, success stories like Begom’s were made possible. In fact, thanks to this MNCH program, World Renew helped families in 53 villages in Bangladesh. In each village, World Renew and its partners trained community health volunteers and traditional birth attendants in maternal and newborn care. These volunteers made regular home visits to 6,730 households with pregnant women and mothers to educate them on eating nutritious foods, going for antenatal care visits, making birth preparedness plans, and watching for danger signs that indicate a need to go to the health facility.

In addition, World Renew and its partners trained 35 Bangladesh Ministry of Health and Family Welfare workers, 53 community leaders, 10 drama teams, and 106 informal service providers on promoting maternal, newborn and child health in the target communities.

More than 17,000 households received valuable training and assistance to improve their overall health.

And in Malawi, where severe levels of childhood malnourishment and childhood stunting is the leading cause of death in children under the age of five, World Renew and its partners organized 600 community health volunteers into 40 care groups through which they received training and support. The volunteers made monthly home visits to 10,591 households with pregnant women and/or children under age two.

They delivered messages about malaria prevention and treatment, proper nutrition for pregnant and lactating women and children under-two, the importance of breastfeeding, and the prevention of diseases such as pneumonia and diarrhea. World Renew also linked these care group volunteers with outreach workers from the public health facilities to help them collaborate on the promotion of health messages and delivery of antenatal care and under-5 outreach clinics at the village level.

Begom was one of the women who received training in Bangladesh. After she completed her training, a family called on her to help a mother deliver a baby. Begom rushed to check on the mother and quickly realized that it was a complicated case. She explained the situation to the husband and advised them to take the mother to a nearby hospital.

In the past, men and women would have ignored the suggestion to deliver the baby in a hospital so far from home. The added time and expense that this involves would have been deemed unnecessary in a community where the majority of children are delivered at home. Thanks to community messaging about the dangers that women and children can face during delivery however, the family was receptive to Begom’s pleas.

Begom travelled with the family to the hospital and stayed with them until the baby was born. The mother delivered a baby boy, but the danger was not over. The baby was not breathing. The doctors, nurses, and relatives all assumed the baby was dead, but Begom wasn’t ready to give up. She attempted to resuscitate the baby and continued trying until the baby took a breath and cried out!

It was the happiest moment in Begom’s life. It has also endeared her in the community. Her neighbors now call on her whenever a mother needs help in delivery.

And the benefits don’t stop there. More than 17,000 households received valuable training and assistance to improve their overall health.  In many communities, people set up emergency funds to help cover the costs of transporting women to health centers for complicated deliveries. And in nearly every community, the ability for women to speak up and participate in decisions related to their and their children’s health was increased.

“This project increased access to MNCH care, increased quality of health care services, enhanced women’s decision-making abilities and rights, and improved health and nutrition practices of mothers and families,” said Alice Ng Bouwma, World Renew’s Grant Manager. “By empowering poor marginalized women to function as community leaders and health volunteers and by linking them in advocacy relationships with government health personnel, the project also effectively increased community capacity for promoting MNCH in collaboration with the government.”

Earlier this year, World Renew submitted a proposal for a new round of funding from the Canadian government. If approved, this proposal will expand MNCH programs in Bangladesh, Malawi, Nigeria and Tanzania over five years and will be launched in 2016. Please join us in praying for a successful approval.