We are VERY excited to announce that the shipping container has reached Malawi!
The 40 foot shipping container, that was very kindly donated by Maersk earlier this year, arrived at Pirimiti Community Hospital, Malawi in late Autumn. It was greeted by excited Maternity Worldwide staff and volunteers who were overwhelmed by the generosity of donations made by supporters during the urgent appeal. The donations have now all been catalogued and distributed to the areas where they are most needed.
Over £7,000 worth of equipment, supplies and textbooks were donated, alongside additional donations of medical equipment, baby clothes, knitted blankets and baby vests, medical textbooks, bicycles, wheelchairs, nursing uniforms and an incredible donation of 548 blood pressure monitors which will help to save lives in pregnancy and childbirth. In total we received over £25,000 worth of donations in just 4 weeks!
It is a great joy to tell you that all of these donations have now been distributed and are already being put to good use…
Some of the backpacks and baseball caps have now been given to our Health Surveillance Assistants in Malawi. They are employed by the Government to provide healthcare in rural areas but we also train them to provide maternal and newborn health information when in the villages. To help them deliver this vital service, we have provided them each with a kit including items such as the donated pregnancy wheels, thermometers, fob watches and foetal stethoscopes. These donations enable them to deliver the best maternal and newborn healthcare they can to the women they visit in rural and remote communities and it also encourages them to continue their fantastic work!
Some of the 
One of the bicycles that was kindly donated by a lovely local supporter has been given to Robert, one of our student midwives in Malawi. Robert is in his final year and will complete his course in Spring 2017 and we are currently fundraising to employ him as a midwife in one of the rural health centres in Zomba. Having the bicycle will enable him to visit more pregnant women in remote villages to provide essential ante-natal care.
One of the - And last, but by no means least, our medical reference library looks like a completely different room! The shelves are now bursting with up-to date textbooks and the room is benefitting from a variety of donated furniture including desks, chairs and cabinets. Having a safe, quiet and comfortable space is a great way to engage with staff and volunteers and will help to encourage continued professional development and training for the hospital staff.
Thank you once again to everyone who made this appeal possible – without your generous donations and support it wouldn’t have been such a success!
