The Gentler Sex

Every minute 1 woman dies from a problem related to pregnancy.

Every year 75,000 women die from unsafe abortions.

Two thirds of the women around the world are poor.

That oughta get your attention!!

Women's Health:

Sure I'm a woman, I guess, but it's completely different to be in charge of 50-75 women's health. It's been my life for the past 7 months! I'm learning things about what these girls, these women, are faced with every day. The clinic received a textbook/book from a YWAM group called, "Where Women Have No Doctor." I've been reading it like mad this past week. This is what I've learned:

• Women are more likely then men to be poor and often among the poorest of the poor.

• Millions of women are caught in a cycle of poverty even before birth.

• In poor families girls get less food then boys, therefore stunting their growth.

• Exhaustion, poor nutrition, lack of good care during pregnancy puts them at risk for poor health.

• Poverty forces her into relationships where she depends on men to survive. For fear of losing his economic support, she withstands unsafe sex and violence.
  

• She has low status which affects how she is treated, how she values herself, what she's allowed to do, and the kinds of decisions she's allowed to make. Therefore she's denied simply b/c she's a woman.
  

I have this crazy heavy heart for the issues of poor women in my area of the city of PP. I read these stats that i listed at the top and I realize how lucky I am to be and do something about them. I sat down this past week and re-evaluated my work. I've been running on high from July-Dec. And now Ruthie's left work. I've been struggling to keep my head above water. I think the last story of the woman who is pregnant and has no food that I wrote about really got to me. I felt like I was kicked in the stomach.

I'm into health education. I see and know how powerful and mighty it is.
Education equals changes, and change equal life!

I don't want to just pass these girls a fish, I want to teach them how to fish. I can't keep giving out medications...i want them to know how to prevent the headache, diarrhea, sore teeth, etc. from happening in the first place.

I've completely revamped the clinic schedule!! (On top of the fact that I need to focus more on sustainability, the fact that the clinic's funding has been pulled from our funder is another major reason why I have to cut down my clinic hours. 150.00/mth is what it takes to run it, and we don't even have that...)

Monday: Nancy (my older nurse partner) will take charge of the pregnant and post-natal clients of mine. Educating them and sharing with them knowledge such as: importance of breastfeeding, exercise, diet and rest. etc.
Tuesday/thursday: Completely devoted to Education days
Wednesday/Friday: full day clinic days

I'm dreaming big! I'm going upstream! I'm looking at the root problems. I'm asking the "But Why?" questions.
Such as, okay, Sexually Transmitted Infections are rampant. Why? Becaue their men are infecting them. But Why? Because their men refuse to wear condoms. But why? Because they don't know/don't give a rat's ass about the transmission of these infections. Okay: there it is; education!

That's my rant for today. Oh and the woman who I spoke of who is pregnant has just told me today that her son has TB...pray....please.
Her mother has agreed to work at the trash dump to collect recyclables to bring in an income. For every kg of recycling she finds she will get 300 riehls...less then 10 cents. Honestly? Really? Honestly? Sometimes all I can do is shake my head...and right now that's exactly what i'm doing.