EthiopiaEthiopia

Helping moms & babies in Ethiopia

You are changing the lives of moms and babies. Here’s how.

Mom's & BabiesMom's & Babies
Back to All Reports

The Need

Of the 5.2 million children who die around the world each year, 75 per cent die in the first year of life. Babies are at risk of death due to premature birth complications, complications during childbirth, infections, pneumonia and diarrhea. But this is preventable. With training and support, moms in poverty can be empowered to raise healthy and happy babies.

Our Response

Critical care
Your support helps secure access to pre- and postnatal care, skilled birth attendants and medical intervention when necessary.

Home-based care
Mothers are visited in their homes monthly by a Survival specialist, who offers education in prenatal care and early child-rearing as well as one-on-one biblical mentoring.

Group-based learning
At these church-based activities, moms learn skills to earn an income and gain vital knowledge including basic literacy, the importance of breastfeeding and how to prevent malnutrition and disease. These groups combat isolation through a supportive community of mothers who, together, learn about the God who loves them.

Ethiopia Stats

Average number of children in household 5
Average age of first-time mothers 19
Births attended by skilled health personnel 50
Stunted growth from malnutrition 35

Activities

Nutrition: Survival families receive monthly food baskets containing nutritious pantry items. In addition to monthly food baskets, moms in the Nekemte Survival Program also received their choice of fortified grain products, such as teff and atmit flour, every three months. Moms from the Amhara Survival Program learned how to prepare nutritious flours from different cereal crops. Program staff taught mothers the importance of breastfeeding and encouraged new moms to breastfeed their babies for as long as possible.

Home visits: Program staff visited Survival caregivers and their families in their homes to provide one-on-one care. Staff taught moms personalized lessons based on their unique needs. In the Woliso Survival Program, eight mothers gave birth in the last year, and during home visits, staff members gifted new moms newborn care items like baby blankets, diapers, baby soap and shampoo. Moms enjoyed home visits and developed a close relationship with staff, often sharing their parenting joys and challenges.

Education: During group workshops and home visits, program staff taught moms lessons on a variety of topics such as health and hygiene, early childhood development, child protection and income generation. Moms in the Amhara Survival Program had very little formal education and most could not read or write. They attended and graduated from literacy classes to help them develop these crucial skills.

Physical health: Staff members provided babies with regular physical exams, where they underwent height and weight checks to monitor their development and assess for signs of illness. Babies and moms experiencing malnutrition were given vitamins or supplements. Pregnant women received prenatal and postpartum care from program staff and healthcare workers. Moms participated in educational workshops that focused on topics like disease prevention, breast cancer awareness and personal hygiene.

Group activities: Survival moms enjoyed spending time with one another during group activities and workshops. Moms learned how to support their children’s holistic growth and had the opportunity to help their children grow their social skills through playtime with other babies and moms in the group. Program staff have reported that many mothers in the program have developed strong relationships with one another.

Project Stats

This intervention addressed:

Full-term births 22
Illness: Non-Communicable Diseases 1
Pregnancies 26
Illness subc: Skin 1
Illness: Infections 2
Breastfeeding Moms 24
Malnourished Babies - Severely Underweight 19
Attended births 18
Malnourished Babies - Moderately Underweight 33
Normal birth weights 21
Low birth weights 2
Pastor Silga, ET0451

ReportA message from a pastor

May the grace and peace of the Lord be upon you!

First and foremost, we would like to say that God bless you for the good work you are doing to help those in need. Thanks to your contribution to the Survival program, we have been providing support for pregnant women, mothers and infants up to the age of one. In the program, they receive health care (treatment and monitoring), food support and clothing (for both mothers and children).

We thank the Lord because this program gives hope to mothers who are struggling to live, let alone take care of their children. The program also supports mothers who have given birth due to circumstances beyond their control, as well as women who have faced unplanned pregnancies. These situations can often lead to difficult decisions, and we are thankful we can support these women.

Finally, this program has significantly impacted others in our community and has helped us have a good reputation within our city. We have a lot of gratitude to the denomination, donors, and Compassion. We are so thankful to the Lord because many others in our community have been given the opportunity to hear the gospel!

May the Lord Bless you in all things with wisdom, understanding and a spirit of diligence more than before.

May the grace of the Lord be with you!

Pastor Silga, ET0451
Bachu

ReportA message from those your gift helped

I was born in a village called Kebele, a 30-minute walk from the town of Nekemte. My parents worked, with my father chopping wood and my mother selling it. After my father’s death, my mother worked as a daily labourer and continued serving our family of four.

We were leading such a burdened life. When I reached school age, I started my regular education at a public school in Nekemte. I attended my classes from the 1st to the 6th grade by walking to and from school from our house. But when I was in the 6th grade, I was sexually assaulted. That was a huge blow for me, and I was afraid to tell my family about it. As the days went by, my pregnancy began to show. I had tried many times to run away from our community or end my life.

While I was in this condition, I told my uncle’s wife what I was planning to do for the last time. She scolded me and told me she would shelter me in her house. So, I ran away from my family and started living with her. As I reached the stage when I could no longer continue my education, my agony and depression began to get worse day by day. Oh, being a mother! My mother was following up on me from far. Even if she was sad that I didn’t tell her about the pregnancy, she couldn’t ignore the agony I was in.

My mother went to the town administration’s Women’s and Children’s office to look for solutions. The officers told her that if I came to this Survival program, I would get sufficient physical and psychological support and that my baby and I would get the services we needed once I gave birth. So, she took me there and a letter was written for me. I was sent to the Survival program with it. I was exactly six months pregnant when I joined the program. After being embraced by the program and giving birth, I lived at my aunt’s house. The Survival program helped my mother and I reconcile, and I returned home after two months. My mother is taking care of me now.

Since I came to the program, the staff comforted me with God’s Word. They showed me that there is another chance to live. The program has also provided me food, soap, diapers and other essential items for my baby and new clothes for me. They have also given us atmit flour (a nutritious flour blend of different grains and seeds that is boiled and drank mostly by new mothers and sick people).

Because I was only 16 when I had my baby, I didn’t have any breastmilk. If it was not for the Survival program, I am sure that my baby would have become seriously sick. I also didn’t have any money to buy clothes, soap or diapers. But now, he gets food every month, milk, clothes and hygiene items. I am no longer worried about him getting sick.

Since joining the program, the difference in my life is so big. Now, God has provided extra support not only for me but for my other three family members. Even though I had an unplanned pregnancy, the Lord has alleviated our challenges and sadness because of this program. God has made my baby the reason for thanksgiving instead of hate.

I don’t have enough words to express my feelings to you but may the Sovereign Lord God who holds everything in His hands bless you. You embraced me and became my shelter and protector. May the God of heaven become a shelter and protector for you.

Your sister,

Bachu