FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER: THANKS TO YOU WE WILL BUILD HEALTHY COMMUNITIES IN 2020!
Greetings from Uganda,
As we begin our 16th year of building strong and lasting partnerships with rural communities in Uganda, I am constantly inspired by the dedication of our staff and the courage of the people of Rakai and Kyotera that we serve. As the Executive Director of Brick by Brick Partners, it has been my privilege to contribute what I can to this important work. None of what we have accomplished would be possible without your support, so let me begin this monthly newsletter with our sincere thanks to each of you for your generous partnership. 2020 will be a year of new and exciting partnerships allowing us to expand on our impacts improving health, education and economic opportunity in Uganda. Let's look ahead at the promise in the year to come.
Mama Rescue Project: Saving the Lives of Mothers and Babies
Over the next few months we will launch this exciting new initiative that will ultimately provide lifesaving transportation to over 10,000 women in labor from remote rural villages to health centers, where our Babies and Mothers Alive (BAMA) trained midwives can provide quality maternal and newborn care. This innovative yet simple mobile phone app, links women in labor to the nearest motorcycle taxi driver. Additionally, 1400 women, in need of emergency transfer from health center to district hospital will be linked to the nearest automobile taxi or ambulance.
FreO2 Foundation Partnership: Providing Oxygen Therapy for Babies and Young Children In Need
Every year, 800,000 babies and young children under the age of 5 die due to treatable pneumonia. One third of these children could be saved if they had access to oxygen therapy. This tragedy is compounded by the one million babies who die annually due to prematurity, many of whom could be saved with therapeutic oxygen. What limits health providers around the world from addressing this problem is that traditional methods of concentrating oxygen from air are expensive and logistically challenging in terms of the supply chain. Heavy tanks must be transported on poor roads to remote health facilities. Often, these tanks need repair, and the quality of the oxygen is questionable. FreO2 Foundation is an Australian-based non-profit that has developed an off-the-grid oxygen concentrator that can be powered by solar or simple hydro-electric power, so that pure oxygen is available where and when it is needed, 24/7.
This year, thanks to a generous grant from Grand Challenges Canada, our BAMA Program will partner with FreO2 to install this innovative and life saving technology in 20 health centers and hospitals throughout Uganda, testing the feasibility and sustainability of FreO2's social enterprise model.
My Pads Program: Comprehensive Adolescent Reproductive Health Is A Human Right
Since 2012, 5000 adolescent girls and young women in Uganda have benefited for our comprehensive sexual and reproductive health after-school program. Beginning in 2020, we will expand this successful program so that it fully addresses the challenges facing our young people. In addition to the 800 students who will participate in My Pads' nine sessions, we will also reach 480 out of school girls and young women. For the first time, we will also focus our efforts on boys and young men so that they comprise 1/3 of participants. We will strengthen our focus on sexual and gender-based violence, working with civil and faith-based leaders, as well as local law enforcement to protect the health and rights of all women. Finally, we will link our young people to adolescent-friendly health services, where they will find BAMA trained staff ready to serve them.
As I write this newsletter I realize I have only scratched the surface of our plans for 2020. Our social enterprise, Brick By Brick Construction Company continues to thrive, employing up to 40 skilled masons and saving forests and wetlands with our environmentally-friendly Interlocking Stabilized Soil Brick technology. We are expanding our partnership with Dutch-based NGO, Knowledge for Children, building a joy of reading and improved literacy at our primary schools.
Over the past 15 years we have accomplished so much together and we are very excited about the opportunities for expanded impact that lie ahead. Thank you for all you have done to support our work.
Marc
