Stories

Meet Birtukan, who lives outside Barhirdar. During her fifth pregnancy her baby was dangerously small. Thankfully, she had been attending the clinic in the BMF sponsored hospital in town.   During this time, severe fighting broke out around her village as part of a...

Meet Boui, 16, who lives in remote South Sudan. The young married bride had her first pregnancy and went into labour, however, after four days in labour her family were eventually persuaded to take her to the mission hospital several hours away. On arrival, Boui...

Meet Nembris who lives in remote Tanzania.  Nembris is the second wife of her husband's four wives. Thirty years ago, on her fifth pregnancy she struggled in labour at home, eventually delivering a stillborn child after four days of labour. She also...

Anna is among the many women who have attended Maternity Africa’s Kivulini Maternity Hospital for maternal health services this year.  During her third pregnancy Anna’s husband unexpectedly passed away. After this time living with her in-laws became incredibly...

Aisha is being carried for two hours through the Afar desert in Ethiopia through 45-degree heat and on a homemade stretcher. She is in labour and the men are trying to find some mobile phone reception to call our ambulance. The ambulance is another four hours away. No...

Lucia's exact age is unknown to her, though she recalls being born before the president of Tanzania, which would mean she is likely over 100 years old (though this is improbable). After giving birth to a daughter, her second delivery in the village endured a prolonged...

Thirty-five years ago, Nyantiona gave birth to her first child in the villages of western South Sudan. Unfortunately, after enduring a two-day labour, she delivered a stillborn child and suffered a fistula. Her husband managed to gather whatever money he could and...

Between May 2019 and December 2019 my wife and I had the privilege to work at Kivulini Maternity Centre, Arusha. Nestled within coffee plantations, with Mount Meru as an imposing backdrop the Hospital serves as a true beacon of hope to some of the world’s most...

Triple Treat! The team at the new Reconciliation Hospital in Juba, South Sudan, recently had the unexpected pleasure of delivering triplets. Mother and baby boys (1.7, 1.9 and 1.9 kgs) are doing well thanks to timely medical care. Pictured here is Marianne, the new...

As this year comes to a close, I reflect on some of the events of my own life in this past year. A quote comes to mind from `WHERE DO BROKEN HEARTS GO?' (Nylle) when I think of the three months I spent in Ethiopia earlier this year. The quote is ... `Better to look...

In 2010 Australian Kate Leeming cycled 20,000km across Africa to learn first hand about the causes and consequences of extreme poverty. She spent time with Valerie Browning in the Afar. Read her blog here for an insight into Valerie's...