We are thrilled to announce the opening of a new maternity ward! Even more excited are the thousands of women this new maternity will serve - women who up until now were unable to deliver their babies in a safe and hygienic clinic.

As the construction was being completed and equipment being brought in, we were greeted by women singing and dancing as they walked by the new maternity ward. They know that this project will save some of their lives. Unfortunately, all of them know friends and family members who have been victims of the extremely high maternal mortality rate that persists in places in CAR without maternal health care.

This new maternity is situated about 10 miles south of our first rural clinic in a town called Mbata, which is about a four hour drive from the capital city, Bangui. Opening this maternity became a priority for us when we realized that many women from Mbata and the surrounding villages were coming to our first rural clinic for prenatal consultations but then delivering at home in unsanitary and unsafe conditions. The reason for this was simple - when these women went into labor, there was no way for them to get to our clinic besides walking ten miles on foot!

This maternity will serve a population of about 15,000 people and will be even more frequented than our first maternity. During the night of the grand opening, we had five women deliver - with all women and babies leaving happy and healthy!
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