Good Evening From Liberia

The week of training wrapped up today with our second group of

43 midwives and nurses being trained at the JFK Hospital. The

knowledge transferred was behavior changing, and it was

magnificent to witness two passionate volunteers giving of their

talents in this way. 

 

 

We are truly an exhausted team, and we will take the day tomorrow

for some “retail therapy”.  The dresses are beautiful, and Robin our

nurse midwife has had her eye on taking one home!  

 

When we met this afternoon with the CMO of JFK, he didn’t have

words for the appreciation he felt towards our training.  The needs

here in Liberia are overwhelming as are the opportunites that this

country faces as it moves from relief to development. The streets

are safe and slowly jobs are being found, though much of the

commerce is still bartering and trading.  The thirst for knowledge

and skills is evident in the faces of those we taught. 

 

We are now beginning to focus on the holidays and getting back

home.  We will see you all soon! 

 

-Mary

 

The Mission In Liberia Continues

Physicians for Peace’s Mary Kwasniewski continues to report from our women and children’s health mission in Liberia.
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Hello Friends and Family!! A small update from Liberia that I hope you will enjoy.

We had 15 additional mid-wives show up for training today – word spreads fast that “yes, what you’ve been hearing on the radio is true! American trainers are in town and they have handouts and books for all that attend.” It made a late afternoon run to the printer for more manuals necessary – which is a good thing – but with the traffic and limited road options, what should have been a 30-minute trip to the local Kinkos becomes a two hour adventure!

During the drive I chatted with our very accommodating host about the prices of some things here vs. there – here are few interesting findings – all prices in USD, as that seems to be used more frequently that the Liberian Dollar here, but I digress…

A cell phone here in Liberia costs about $5 a month with no roll-over minutes or contract commitments! Imagine that! What are you currently paying for your mobile ball and chain? Additionally we then compared that to the average cost of getting internet set up in your home which runs around $250 here in Liberia for the setup equipment and hook-up followed by a $75-per-month charge. Compare that to our free setup with an average $20-$40 per month charge.

Only the price of gas seems to be somewhat comparable, though it has been fluctuating so much at home I am not sure what it is today – but here we paid $3.55 per gallon. The drawback is that here there are a total of only two “filling stations” similar to our gas pumps. The other option is your standard glass jars of gasoline available on the side of the road, with someone waiting with a funnel for when you are ready to fill up.

So, that was what I was up to while the mid-wives and trainers had an afternoon session on Post Partum Hemorrhaging. I can also say that this morning was as successful as yesterday, and I am using the following fact as a gauge to measure their interest – we have 45 people this morning in the same room that was so hot yesterday with only 30.

For some that showed up late their chair is only a plastic patio chair, but when we announced lunch was to be served, the students didn’t move!! They didn’t want to miss a thing that Robin might be teaching them. It wasn’t until it was confirmed that indeed she would be breaking for lunch also that they began to stir… and I kid you not, they were back in the classroom an hour later right on time, ready to hear more!

So I am confident that we both enjoyed our afternoons, and as a last note during our excursion we also attempted to download from my email a file Susan Palmer so graciously agreed to send from the home office. However, when we stopped at the local shop with the “fastest download” reputation, we were informed that the machine was resting. I guess it must be awfully hard to run @ 54 Mbps consistently… Wait! They’re paying $75 a month for 54 Mbps… yup!

Have a great day! Love you all – Mary

PFP’s Mary Kwasniewski in Liberia

PFP is currently conducting a mission in Liberia to launch a new program training midwives to promote women’s and children’s health. PFP’s Mary Kwasniewski gives us a report.
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According to the WHO – “Every country should aim at having well trained birth attendants according to its specific needs. This should not be seen as a luxury. It is the difference between life and death.” In Liberia, the chances of death in childbirth are 1 in 12.

Today we began our first Mid-wifery training classes at the Liberian Healthcare Center about 30 minutes outside the capital of Monrovia. The students varied from traditional birth attendants to practicing midwives and also midwifery students. In all, 30 health workers became better equipped today to help this country’s battle to overcome and turn around the maternal death rates. PFP volunteer Robin Jones, RN, CNM, covered the topic of recognizing normal and abnormal birthing stages – to include the positioning of the baby in the early stages and learning to recognize problems early on. During the afternoon the topic of eclampsia was covered by Physicians for Peace Volunteer Dr. Sharon Byrd, a tough topic to cover – she was not only thorough in her training but inspiring in her prose, truly challenging the midwives to think and change their normal procedures one delivery at a time – they can and are the front lines of making the lives of mother and baby better.

The compound for the classroom was not air- conditioned but the thirst for learning kept 30 bodies plus instructors interested from 8 am to 4:30 pm. Despite the challenges of a working and compatible LCD projector, the cost of transport and using a wall for the screen, the first day couldn’t have been better and they are all looking forward to coming back tomorrow. Hot and tired, the team is now resting but charged and ready to go back again tomorrow. They will be conducting this training through Friday – moving to JFK Hospital on Thursday.