We’ve likely all had an experience of life changing in an instant. Maybe it was the birth of a first child, the unexpected loss of a loved one, or bad news about a job. Whatever it was, life was irrevocably altered after.
For millions of refugees, the life-changing experience might involve armed conflict, a natural disaster, or persecution. And it can propel them into uncertain and dangerous places, with few options to build better futures.
The impact of COVID-19 has changed the entire world. In one community in Bangladesh, a Hidden Hero has emerged to help slow the spread. Meet Rumi, a 16-year-old who lives in a slum with her parents and brother Rummon (9) in southern Bangladesh. “I mostly invest my time helping my parents in household chores, playing with my younger brother and messaging my community with my peers. My school and life have greatly changed…now I spend my days at home to stay safe from the coronavirus contamination. I miss my normal days,” says Rumi. She completed high school this year and now disseminates life-saving messages to communities through the Chader Alo (“moonlight”) Child Forum mobilized and inspired by World Vision’s Area Program in Barishal City.
Ask any mother what she wants more than anything in the world, and she’ll likely say, “for my children to be safe, healthy, and happy.” For mothers living in extreme poverty, this gift is hard to come by … especially now with the threat of COVID-19. But people like Gertrude Jima (pictured right) are at the forefront of giving moms what they want most – access to knowledge and resources that empower them to care for their children.
“It’s a miracle that my daughter is alive today,” says Sonya Hamboya, a 25-year-old widow in southern Zambia.
Sonya is a vibrant mother of two adorable kids, a boy and girl, 11 and 5, respectively. She lives with her children and baby niece in a mountainous, remote village in World Vision’s Moyo Area Program.
As a child, Sonya loved school and hoped to become a doctor. Unfortunately, at 14, she became pregnant in eighth grade and was forced out of school.
World Vision’s expertise in the prevention of the spread of infectious disease has never been more important than during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the most important activities to prevent the spread of the virus is to ensure that people have a way to wash their hands and understand why it’s so critical. And of course, you can’t wash your hands effectively without clean water.
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| Teresa with her last born son |
While health facilities play a critical role in preventing stillbirths and improving new born survival, most women in some rural, isolated communities in Zambia were, until recently, subjected to unsanitary environments while giving birth at these clinics.
“I dreaded giving birth from the clinic because of what I went through when giving birth to my first three children,” says 35-year-old Teresa Siambulato of Mweemba Village in southern Zambia.
Teresa is a happily married mother of four handsome boys, whose ages range between 10 months and 10 years. She adores children and always looked forward to giving birth to her own at the Kayuni Rural Health Center—the only health facility in her village.
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| Florence & her second born using the tippy-tap |
No one knows better than Florence how the benefits of having community health workers in her village can be life changing. Last year, Nyakabale was far from being a model village. As with most communities where open defecation exists, Nyakabale had extremely low standards of hygiene and sanitation. Through World Vision, volunteer community health workers (CHW) were trained to help teach people about the benefits of living in a clean environment, free of disease and waste. The CHWs help parents learn how to prevent common illnesses like diarrhea through better hygiene practices.
In the vast Semiarid lands of North Eastern Kenya lies Wajir town, in Wajir County, home to Kenyan Somali communities. For years the children and the communities in this region have suffered from waterborne diseases including diarrhea, typhoid and cholera which is said to be endemic in the town.
Najma (10), a grade four student in Wajir town remembers what it was like. "There were times we would get sick in the stomach from drinking dirty water,” she said.
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CHWs, ttC, 7-11, PDH. These aren’t just your ordinary acronyms. They stand for the very simple, very powerful approaches World Vision is using to strengthen health care systems and save the lives of moms and their babies. In honor of World Health Day, we invite you to learn what they are and how have they delivered double-digit improvements in just two years.
Previous Mukombwe, 40, is a blissful and high-spirited mother of eight beautiful children, four boys and four girls. She is married to Airman, 46, who is a peasant farmer. Growing up in a poor, remote village, Previous was forced to drop out of school and be married at the age of 17. “I didn’t want to get married but had no choice,” she says.
Despite being married to a very caring man, things didn’t go as planned in the first years of their marriage. “I tried so hard to get pregnant but failed.
