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For the past few months my church has held a monthly “Advocacy Breakfast” with a presentation from an expert on a different Millennium Development Goal (MDG). There are eight United Nations MDGs, established in 2000 and, broadly, these goals are far from being achieved, with only 5 years remaining before the deadline. These breakfasts typically attract about 25.
Last Saturday morning was the biggest such event in the series, with a presentation from Dr Jean Chamberlain Froese, founder and Executive Director of ‘Save the Mothers’, about the 5th MDG – Maternal Health. There were over 120 people for breakfast, largely because the Hamilton Spectator ran a large feature article about the work of Dr Chamberlain Froese the weekend before. It was fortunate that she was able to squeeze our little church breakfast into her busy schedule, just one week before presenting to the G8 summit and meeting the Prime Minister.
I first found out about her and her work over a year ago when I attended the book launch of her husband, Thomas Froese. He is a journalist and writer, and the two of them live in Hamilton, Ontario for the four summer months and in Uganda for the remaining 8 months, for the past several years. I bought a signed copy of his book as a Christmas gift for my brother.
Prior to establishing Save the Mothers, Dr. Chamberlain Froese worked as an obstetrician in Yemen, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Pakistan. It was there she was confronted with the tragic scourge of mothers dying from preventable causes. While working in Uganda she decided to do something about it.
After all that she had seen and learned she knew building another hospital wasn’t the answer. The complexities and silence surrounding maternal mortality demanded social and cultural change. Together with her Ugandan colleagues she founded Save the Mothers, an international non-profit organization that educates local leaders on safe motherhood.
My first impression of her before she spoke was that, apart from being very pretty, she was thin, even emaciated – no doubt a product of the life she leads in giving of herself to her calling. Prevented me from smothering my breakfast with strawberries and syrup.
Her presentation to us was a real eye-opener. She compared Ugandan and sub-Sahara maternal health statistics to those we enjoy in North America. For example, in a typical North American city, fewer than 1 in 4,000 women will die from childbirth. In sub Sahara Africa, it’s one in 16. That’s a shameful reflection of the disparities between our world and theirs. Many will simply bleed to death, which could be prevented in many cases with the use of a drug costing less than one dollar.
Here’s the link to the Save the Mothers website:
http://www.savethemothers.org/
Post note: Today, at the G8 Summit Muskoka initiative, Prime Minister Harper announced $7 Bn for maternal health – perhaps her meeting with him helped!
