Naewa made her way down to the river to fill the water containers. She hopes she will make it back before the rain starts again. It is the long rainy season in Uganda, the the trip takes about an hour each way and being 7 months pregnant and wearing her 10 month old on her back was not making the task any easier. As she was walking she thought over the events of the day. Her neighbors small child had died from typhoid earlier in the morning. She often wondered if one of her children would also die.
Naewa arrived at the river, she set down the containers and swung the baby around to the front so that she could nurse. It was better to take care of the baby now than to have to stop on the way back. While nursing she feels the contractions again, she knows that will not be able to nurse much longer or it will make the new child come to soon.
Naewa finishes taking care of the baby and swings the child back on to her back.
She makes her way to the water and fills the containers. The trip back will be slower because the water is heavy. Naewa often wishes that her husband could come and get the water, but he has to tend their small farm so that they have enough to sell and also to eat. When the children are older they will be able to help her with getting water and also help tend the few animals they own.
On the way back to her small mud hut she wonders if she will be able to get one of the village women to come and help her when it time for the baby to come. The nearest medical help is 3 km away from their village, which is a long way to walk when you are in labor.
Naewa is finally home after the long walk from the river. She starts a fire outside the hut and starts to prepare her family's evening meal which consists of tilapia (fish) and ugali (a stiff maize porridge) and maybe some matoke (a cooked plantain/banana mash). She also has to boil the water that she just got from the river so that her family will stay well.
As Naewa gets ready for bed in the evening she feels the new child kicking. She already loves this small baby growing inside her as much as her other little one. She wants to feel that there is hope for her small family to be healthy and to earn enough to be able to survive. She hopes that there will be help from somewhere soon.
Today is Mothers Day, lets celebrate and support mothers who are living in poverty, through ongoing support of a Compassion
Child Survival Program or by making a one time donation. The Child Survival Program helps save the lives of babies and mothers in poverty by utilizing local churches to assist mothers of at-risk infants and toddlers. Mothers can give their children a fighting chance for healthy development with the supplies and training provided by the donations to this program. Will you help a Mother like Naewa have some hope for the future?
