Helping Moms & Babies at ME0988
You are changing the lives of moms and babies. Here’s how.
The Need
Of the 5.9 million children who die around the world each year, 75 per cent die in the first year of life. Babies are at risk of death due to premature birth complications, complications during childbirth, infections, pneumonia and diarrhea.
But this is preventable. With training and support, moms in poverty can be empowered to raise healthy and happy babies.
Our Response
Critical care
Your support helps secure access to pre- and postnatal care, skilled birth attendants and medical intervention when necessary.
Home-based care
Mothers are visited in their homes monthly by a Survival specialist, who offers education in prenatal care and early child-rearing as well as one-on-one biblical mentoring.
Group-based learning
At these church-based activities, moms learn skills to earn an income and gain vital knowledge including basic literacy, the importance of breastfeeding and how to prevent malnutrition and disease. These groups combat isolation through a supportive community of mothers who, together, learn about the God who loves them.
Mexico Stats
Average number of children in household | 3 |
Average age of first-time mothers | 18 |
Births attended by skilled health personnel | 98 |
Stunted growth from malnutrition | 12 |
Activities
Entrepreneurship skills: The Survival program implementer visited moms in their homes and has been teaching them to embroider napkins and to crochet clothes for their babies to keep them warm. Moms will be able to use these skills to sell their products to generate income for their families.
Food kits: Survival families received essential groceries every month to support them during the pandemic. As most caregivers have lost their source of income, this has been a huge blessing!
Welcome kits: The church provided moms in the program with gifts for their babies. The gifts included a warm baby outfit, hygiene products to help care for their babies and a baby bath. Families were grateful for the support.
Early stimulation: Moms learned about the importance of bonding emotionally with their babies and playing with them to support healthy development, both cognitively and physically. Dads were also included in these lessons and were encouraged to show their little ones physical affection.
Health: Expecting moms learned how to care for their bodies during pregnancy and what to expect during and after delivery. Moms and babies received regular medical checkups, and babies were weighed and measured every month.
Home visits: Staff visited moms in their homes to share lessons from the Survival curriculum and monitor their individual needs during the pandemic. Moms learned about hygiene precautions to protect them during the pandemic and about healthy nutrition to foster a strong immune system.
Project Stats
This intervention addressed:
Full-term births | 2 |
Breastfeeding Moms | 5 |
Malnourished Babies - Severely Underweight | 13 |
Normal birth weights | 2 |
ReportA message from a pastor
I greet you with affection, hoping that you are well and that God’s blessings are with you.
I write from the mountains in our community. We are currently living in a difficult time due to the pandemic in our country and in many parts of the world. For this reason, the families have less work, since many used to go out and sell their products, fruit, handicrafts, flowers, furniture, etc. However, they have not been able to do so for several months. Public activities have also been suspended. Thank God that so far, there have been no cases in our community. Families have taken precautions.
I appreciate the support that the mothers and children of the Survival program have received, and they are very grateful and happy. They have received supplies and personal hygiene items for their kids like toys and blankets. They have lessons in their homes, where they learn about God and how to give quality care to their children. We have seen that the benefited families have become aware of the value of the family and the care they should have for their young children so they can grow up in a healthy, loving environment.
At first it was not easy, and some of the beneficiary families had doubts and uncertainties. But as the months went by and the program developed, they began to have confidence and openness. Now it is a challenge we have overcome. We hope that families can continue in this ministry and that they can encounter Christ. We also hope that they can grow in a spiritual way in the church.
I appreciate the effort you make to support these families. I appreciate the work, dedication and commitment. We administer it with great honesty so that it reaches the hands of the children. Thank you for being part of the life of each little one and their families. I thank God for your life and I pray the Lord continues to bless your homes. Thank you very much!
ReportA message from those your gift helped
My name is Lucila, and I am from the community of San Sebastián Río Hondo. I am a single mother and I have a 10-month-old baby. Her name is Melanie. She is my first baby and is a great blessing in my life.
Although we are living in difficult times due to the pandemic, thank God we are in good health. But we are missing our friends for not being able to visit as before. Melanie is growing every day and is already taking her first steps.
For me, being in the Survival program has been a great blessing. I thank you very much for your support. I have learned many things about taking care of my daughter, but above all I have been learning to be closer to God and to know Him every day, which allows me to understand how to guide my daughter in her growth. I am very grateful to God and the Survival donors for allowing me and Melanie to be in the program. We have been blessed with groceries in this difficult time, as well as with clothing and support in the health of my daughter.
I thank you with all my heart and I send a lot of love and blessings.