Invest In A Skilled Birth Attendant - Midwives For Haiti

Invest In A Skilled Birth Attendant

SPONSOR MIDWIVES SALARIES IN HAITI

“The single most critical intervention to ensure safe motherhood is skilled assistance at all births.” -UNFPA

In a country that has a severe shortage of Skilled Birth Attendants and lacks the resources to pay a fair salary, we believe that this support is a long term investment with the potential for huge returns. We are investing in the careers of women and men who are not only supporting their own families, but have also committed their life’s work to fighting maternal and infant mortality within their own communities.

Please join us and sponsor a Skilled Birth Attendant today. An annual salary is $4160, or $320 per month.*  A seemingly small amount to us but a life-changing sum for a SBA, her family, and the 160+ mothers and babies she will care for each year at St. Therese Hospital. (*Including the customary one-month holiday bonus.)
As a sponsor, you will receive a tax-deductible receipt, photo and personal letter from your sponsored SBA, and quarterly updates on their work.

Access to Skilled Birth Attendants (SBAs) is so very important to improve birth outcomes for the mothers and infants of Haiti.  At St. Therese Hospital in Hinche, we currently pay the salaries of 16 staff SBAs, all graduates of our program. We do this because the hospital is underfunded and the women of Hinche deserve to have quality skilled care available 24/7. Day in and day out, we see the difference that these SBAs make in the lives of the mothers and infants they care for.
Below are the Skilled Birth Attendants whose salaries we need sponsored immediately. In the past we have crowdfunded these salaries, each person chipping in a minimum of $15 a month, until the salary was covered. It takes 26 individuals at $15 each to pay a monthly salary.  Click on each link to learn more about team sponsorship and to pledge a minimum recurring donation of $15/month* to support his or her work.  You could also take on all or part of a salary.  We absolutely appreciate whatever you might be able to give, however often.
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Claudie Exume

Claudie Exume was a graduate of our 4th class and has been working at Hospital St. Therese since February of 2012. Mother of three children, she says: “I thought if I went into women’s health I could help my community. I first looked at the school in Port-au-Prince, but their enrollment for the year was already over. Then I heard about Midwives for Haiti.”

 
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Salnave Pierre

Salnave Pierre: Father of three (ages 18, 17, and 13), graduate of MFH Class 5, and Skilled Birth Attendant at Ste. Therese Hospital. He says, “I like to work nights in maternity- there is more of a need, there are many more women giving birth at night…. I know that I’m making a difference in the lives of my patients because many people come to the hospital and ask for me.”

 

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Carline Jean-Gilles

Carline Jean-Giles: Mother of four (ages 21, 18, 13, and 7), graduate of MFH Class 3, and Skilled Birth Attendant at Ste. Therese Hospital. She says, “At Ste. Therese Hospital we have patients from very rural parts of the country. I’m glad that I get to work with people from rural places because they have fewer chances to get care or have access to care elsewhere.”

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Ysemonique Thelesmon

 Ysemonique Thelesmon: Mother of three (ages 12, 8, and 4) and daughter of a Traditional Birth Attendant (matròn in Haitian Creole), Ysemonique is also the sister of fellow Midwives For Haiti SBA and preceptor, Gennette.
Of her job at Ste. Therese Hospital, Ysemonique says, “There is a lot of postpartum hemorrhage here and there are not enough people working at the hospital. There is a lack of staff for the number of people we care for. My job is important because I’m taking care of my own family but also providing care to the community.”
 
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Guilet Enelus

 Guilet Enelus: Orginially from Leogane (the epicenter of the 2010 earthquake), Guilet graduated from our 6th class and began working at Hospital Ste. Therese in August 2015.

Guilet says: “In Haiti, when you say someone is a midwife, that comes with a great responsibility. In helping to give life, midwives are called to help pregnant women and babies. Midwives should always be there for their patients, in good times and in bad times.” 
Guilet’s salary was generously funded by the ACNM affiliate North Carolina nurse-midwives from 2016-17!

At Midwives For Haiti, we don’t believe this sponsorship is charity.  Rather, we believe it is an investment. An investment in the skills and impact one skilled birth attendant can make on hundreds of mothers and babies each year and a maternal health system over a lifetime. We hope that you will join us in making this investment.

INSPIRED TO SPONSOR ALL OR PART OF A SALARY? FUNDRAISING RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE. EMAIL INFO@MIDWIVESFORHAITI.ORG