Phil Borges » Women’s Issues

One HEART continued – Students Taking Action

Phil Borges — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:35:53 +0000

When One HEART decided to begin its program to address maternal mortality with the indigenous Tarahumara in Northern Mexico they contracted with Alisun Chopel to do a feasibility study for the program. Alisun was a student working on her Masters Degree in Public Health at UC Berkeley. She applied for an internship with One HEART got a scholarship to cover her expenses and headed for Mexico. Alisun spent 2 months living in the Sierra Tarahumara meeting with the local health workers and Parteras (traditional birth attendants) to see what their needs were and how One HEART’s methodology could fit into the Tarahumara cultural context. In doing so she not only gained an invaluable life experience, but fulfilled the requirements for her master’s thesis.

Suzy consulting with Tarahumara mothers

Alisun’s findings prepared the way for Suzy Messer another university student who is currently pursuing her Master’s in Public Health with a concentration in Maternal Health through Boston University’s School of Public Health. Suzy is now the Field Coordinator for the rollout of One Heart’s pilot program in Chihhuahua, Mexico and is using her work there to complete the requirements for her master’s in Public Health.

Suzy visiting villages in the Tarahumara

As I’ve been speaking around the country on women’s issues for the last few years, many university students have come up to me and asked how they could get involved. Like most students they didn’t have money to donate but they wanted to do something. One of the most exciting parts of the Stirring the Fire website is the call to action that offers a myriad of ways — like working with organizations like One HEART — to support women and girls around the world.

When you get a chance check out Take Action on our website with its searchable database of organizations.

One HEART continued – Miso

Phil Borges — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:28:56 +0000

For cross-cultural global health programs it’s critical to ensure that there is compatibility between the values of the program and the recipient culture. Since most Tarahumara women live several hours or days away from the nearest clinic or hospital they suffer one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in North America. Of course it would be ideal if the women were giving birth in clinics or hospitals but women hesitate to make the long and difficult trip–especially if labor has started. They typically end up having their babies alone or with an untrained birth attendant. Part of One HEART’s plan is to conduct a maternal health education program for the local Parteras (traditional birth attendants) and give them a few basic items like sterile blades to cut the umbilical cord.

Teresa, local Partera

Ninety percent of the women who die in childbirth do so because of postpartum hemorrhage. Administering drugs like Oxytocin to women who are having postpartum bleeding causes the uterus to contract and very effectively stops the bleeding. Unfortunately, Oxytocin has to be kept refrigerated. Another very effective drug for post partum hemorrhage, Misoprostol, does not need refrigeration and is very inexpensive—therefore an ideal drug for the Parteras to have on hand. Unfortunately, because ‘Miso’ can also be used to induce an abortion, it has not been allowed to be used in the heavily Catholic Tarahumara Sierra.

Arlene Samen the executive director of One HEART traveled to Mexico City to see if she could get the ban on ‘Miso’ lifted in the Tarahumara Sierra if proper precautions against misuse were taken. The Mexican authorities who have been extremely welcoming to One HEART are taking Arlene’s request into consideration. If approved it will be a huge victory for the Tarahumara women and their families.

How can we help ensure our security here at home?

Phil Borges — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:30:07 +0000

When I read in the book Half the Sky (Kristof/Wudunn, [New York: Knopf, 2009], xx-xxi) that the Joint Chiefs of Staff now consider the education of women and girls important to our military goals in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and consequently to our security here at home, it gave me hope that US military thinking has evolved from the days of ‘Shock and Awe’.

The UN, UNICEF, the World Bank, CARE and other experts on poverty reduction like Jeffrey Sachs and Paul Farmer have indicated that the key to alleviating global poverty and its attendant ills (like fundamentalism and extremism) is by empowering women and girls. Yet today less than 1% of US foreign aid targets programs that empower women and girls. Evidently it hasn’t gone unnoticed that the countries we are having the most trouble with right now are countries that marginalize their females. Hopefully this realization by the Joint Chiefs will prompt some rethinking about the allocation of our foreign aid funds.

Humaria,11, sells eggs on the streets of Kabul to help support her family. She has never attended school. Today the literacy rate for girls in Afghanistan is 15% in the urban areas like Kabul and .6% in the rural areas.

Fortunately, the citizen sector (non-profit organizations) are stepping up to fill this need. There are literally thousands of organizations providing micro credit loans and educational opportunities for women and girls or addressing the issues of maternal mortality, violence against women and child trafficking.

The big question most of us are asking is how can we help? In my next blog I would like explore how nonprofit models of giving are evolving to become more personal and transparent.