This month my team of 6 is joined together with a few other teams making a mega team- team Omega. There are 4 girls (myself included) on the team that are wanting to pursue midwifery. Ally and Allison are both nurses, and Brieanne and I are planning to go to nursing school once we return to the US. It’s such a God thing that we were all places together on this big team!
Our host is so passionate about Jesus and helping people. He got a drilling team together to work on digging a well for the village of Nyawa in the Kazangula District. There’s a small clinic that’s the only medical center for the whole area; it treats 21,000 patients, and people travel miles and miles to get the medical help they need.
Many of the locals we talked to had small scars on their body; after asking our host what they were, we learned that they’re the marks of the witch doctors. Basically people make a blood covenant with the doctors for healing, and instead of healing, they open a door for demonic entities to enter into their lives.
Each day of the week the clinic treats
different patients, with Wednesday’s being prenatal appointment day. I got to do my first head-to-toe assessment on a momma who’s 19 weeks pregnant. It’s so cool learning how the village does prenatal care and how they check moms and their babies.
Women will come once they’re around 34-36 weeks pregnant and stay at a women’s house specifically for pregnant women. They literally sleep on concrete floors-these pregnant women are strong y’all!
In the post natal room there are 4 beds where the mommas and their new baby sleep, while the new mom’s own mom sleeps on the floor. There were literally 8 women and 4 babies in the little room. It was crazy!
And then, it happened…
I finally witnessed my first birth! Wow, what a beautiful thing! I’m nothing but encouraged to pursue my dreams of midwifery. The 18 year old mom didn’t cry or even make any noise during her labor-she was so inspiring and strong.
The thing that blows my mind, however, is that moms have to bring their own medical supplies with them when they give birth. 3 pairs of sterile gloves, the umbilical cord clasp, towels, basin for water, cleaning supplies to clean the room after them, a black trash bag that’s laid on the birthing table, and they even have to discard of their placenta.
Nyawa needs our prayer and support. They need another clinic, prayer, medical supplies and equipment, and they most importantly need to know the love of Jesus. Please pray against the doors that have been opened by the witch doctors, and pray for healing in the land. Emotional, physical, and spiritual healing are necessary for these people to advance in their lives.
Also, pray for the well. This was the second time they’ve dug for a well in this village, and this is the second time they’ve struck out. These people need water; do to it being the dry season, the rivers and creeks that run through the district are all dried up. Water is necessary for the clinic, for their crops, for the animals, and most importantly for the villagers.
