Midwives on MIssions of Service does great work teaching women to solve problems and to provide maternity care in Sierra Leone, even in the midst of Ebola. I am proud of this work. But, we have more invitations to teach than we can handle. If MOMS trains ten local trainers, we would quintuple our reach - for less than 1/2 the cost per class! We would meet our essential goal of building capacity for managing the program. When we were in Sierra Leone this summer, we talked to Dr David Bohm, a friend and District Medical Officer. He told us how much he wanted us to train everyone in his district. We talked about the train-the-trainer program that was our dream. He said, "Are you people of faith? We will pray! The money is out there!" He asked how we have raised money so far. I told him that we imitate St Francis, and beg our friends and family and strangers, apply for the small grants that are available for this kind of work, and beg some more. He laughed, and said we simply must continue begging. I promised I would.We need $10,000 above our regular annual expenses of $42,000 to train ten trainers in 2016. With that much extra, we will...- Teach the new trainers the course content.- Teach them how to teach effectively.- Teach three cohorts with them, where they take increasing responsibility- Provide each pair of trainers a complete set of charts and models to use as visual aids.Then, over the next five years, they can blanket Dr Bome's territory and the two other districts we've worked in, as well. They will reach at least 300 women a year, and up to 600 or more! That is a fabulous return on investment!MOMS will continue to work in new districts and train their trainers. Dr Bome and others also asked us to work with other types of maternal health care providers. We really want to get started with that work, too. We don't publish "poverty porn" to appeal to your sentimentality, but the hungry eyes and hopeless faces, the pain and sorrow are real and they are important. Please help us. MOMS saves lives, reduces suffering, and gives hope. We build the capacity of the people, improve their resilience to crisis. Entire villages rise on the tide of better health for women and children. Every visit, the people tell us how grateful they are. They believe that the world has abandoned them, and when we tell them about you, they are incredulous. "They care about us? Really? They care? Wow." They hold up their heads - someone cares. We do the work of going and teaching. You do the work of giving hope and money. Thank you. By the way, MOMS is a 501(c)(3) agency, so donations are tax deductible. We operate in Sierra Leone as a registered INGO (international non-governmental organization) and pay all required fees and such. You can find out more at www.GlobalMidwives.org. There, you will also find PayPal (r) buttons, if you prefer to donate that way. You can send a check to MOMS at PO Box 1656, Gualala, CA 95445, USA.Many thanks,Trish Ross and Chris McManus(For the Board of Directors)P.S. Please share this widely. If you have questions, please contact us. Thank you.
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