Mama Lidia's Clinic
Healthy women, healthy children, a better Feres Mai!
ABOUT US
ABOUT US
The Story
Feres May Hahaile is a village located in Tigray, Ethiopia. More than 100,000 people live there, most in abject poverty. Due to the lack of medical facilities, medical supplies and skilled health practitioners, maternal and child mortality rates are high and affect many families.
The conditions for women in labor are dire, especially for those in extended labor - when complications can arise - since there are
no nearby hospitals or facilities for medical treatment. Many are forced to deliver children in their homes without any medication to relieve pain or trained medical personnel to aid.
Many of the young women expecting are physically underdeveloped due to their ages (14 -16 years) and lack of routine nourishment which contributes to complications during pregnancy and childbirth (hemorrhage, sepsis, a ruptured uterus, an obstetric fistula, etc.) There is also a lack of proper sanitation, contributing to disease and underdevelopment of newborns and children. Ethiopia is one of five countries in Africa with the highest maternal, neonatal, infant and less-than-five mortality rates.
The Tigray region is mountainous which makes road transportation more difficult for expectant mothers and newborns to receive emergency and ongoing medical treatment. The local people have contributed land and any other resources they have to help build a maternity and pediatric medical clinic. The Ethiopian Gospel Missionaries - specifically Lidia Schaefer - is spearheading the effort to plan, raise funds and coordinate the building of a maternity and pediatric medical clinic in the Feres May village. The funds raised will go toward building the infrastructure, labor costs, purchasing medical supplies, equipment, instruments and manuals for the facility. She recently visited the village to finalize plans, hire personnel and coordinate logistics so construction can begin. The clinic will consist of 13 rooms that include two delivery rooms, infant and children's rooms (five beds in each), a nurses' station, a doctors' office, a patient overnight room, a waiting room and a surgery room. The estimated total cost for this project is $290,000.
Lidia Schaefer was previously involved in the funding and building of an intermediate children's school consisting of eight buildings housing 16 classrooms, a library, an auditorium, a lab and an administration office in the same region. The school has been in operation since 2006 and seats more than 1,500 students, allowing children of the neighboring villages easy access to education. Previously, the children walked more than three hours daily to school, only to receive their education in an outdoor classroom. That project was featured in several magazines, news articles and television including CNN Heroes and
The clinic will reduce suffering and death rates of the women and children in Feres Mai. Ongoing medical treatment will allow people the opportunity to live healthier and happier lives. We need your help through donations in seeing this project come to fruition for a desperately needed medical facility.
Thank you!
*Your donation is tax deductible. A receipt will be sent to the address provided.
Please make check payable to:
Ethiopian Gospel Missionaries Association
Mailing Address:
7436 Calder Dr
Capitol Heights MD 20743
For information:
Lidia Schaefer
Day: (202) 294-7273
Evening: (202) 294-7273
Website:
mamalidiasclinic.com
Google:
Lidia Schaefer
Lidia’s School, Geographic Coordinate@Google Earth:
14.169734° 39.105195°