Freedom From Fistula Foundation - Malawi Midwife Project

After a talk by Sue Hope about the Freedom From Fistula Foundation Duns Rotarians decided to support its project in Malawi. Other clubs were like-minded and donations have been pooled to gain a Global Grant from Rotary Foundation, which is now in place.


Obstetric fistulas are caused by prolonged, obstructed childbirth and leave women incontinent, often living in shame and isolation having been outcast by their families and friends.  The Freedom From Fistula Foundation was founded by Ann Gloag in 2008 to help women and girls with this injury.  Its work comprises both helping women and girls suffering from the condition and helping to prevent it happening in the first place, through:
  • free surgeries to repair obstetric fistulas and
  • direct maternity services through its own maternity unit, (Sierra Leone) and
  • providing midwifery training to improve knowledge and skills in midwifery services
There are an estimated 2 million women living with obstetric fistula in Africa and the Freedom From Fistula Foundation has projects in Sierra Leone, Kenya, and Malawi, with a project in Liberia starting soon, and is helping fund treatment in Ethiopia and Zambia.
 
Maternal deaths can be as high as 1 in 6 in Africa and, for those who survive, 1 woman every 2 seconds is injured or disabled in childbirth. Better maternity care, and access to it, is crucial to prevent obstetric fistulas and the provision of trained midwives is critical to this process.
 

The Malawi Midwife Project

Established with the personal support of the new President of Malawi, FFFF's Malawi Project has the goal of transforming maternity care in the country by training 200 new midwives.
It cost $2000 to train each midwife for two years (approx

Related pages...

President Eric fires a shot into a well defended goal

KYDS Hockey Players Try To Train Rotary President

more KYDS Hockey, in response to a £250 donation from the Club, invited Duns Rotarians to a Training Session. President Eric went along to see for himself their enthusiasm for the sport.

Duns Rotary goes Microlending

more Lend With Care is a charity offering people in the UK the opportunity to make small loans to individuals in developing countries. Here are details of the scheme and Duns Rotary Club's actions.

Cambodian Farmer Ho Mei seeks funding

Our Second Round of Microlending

more Lend With Care is a charity offering people in the UK the opportunity to make small loans to individuals in developing countries. Here are details of the scheme and Duns Rotary Club's actions.

Citizen of the year winner 2013

more Duns Citizen of the Year 2013 is Billy O'Brien, recognised as a tireless worker for community and fund-raising projects. He received the trophy at a recent club meeting,

RYLA Sponsorship

more Duns Rotary Club offers two sponsorships per year for young people to attend Rotary's own camp for developing leadership skills, the Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA). This page gives details of the scheme.

End Polio Now

more Eliminating Polio has been a long-term goal of Rotary International. The Duns Club has been a committed supporter of this cause over the years and success is now tantalizingly close.

Pensioners' Lunch

more For a number of years the Club has run a free lunch for pensioners in the Spring, complete with an afternoon's entertainment.

Santa's Visits

more For a number of years we have secured pre-Christmas visits from Santa to Duns and other nearby communities. This page gives details of some past visits and a contact form if you wish to find out more from Santa's Liaison Rotarian.

Mary's Meals

more We have supported Mary's Meals over a number of years. The linked pages give details of how we came to select this charity and the projects we have helped.

back to page above this...

Projects

back This page gives access to details of the various Projects we support either financially or by running activities ourselves.