Gift of Life

Safe Mothers, Safe Babies Holiday Gift Catalog

Every year, more than 360,000 women and 3,000,000 babies die during childbirth, while

millions more are injured. The causes of maternal and neonatal death are largely preventable if

women can access timely and appropriate medical care. Yet, in developing countries like Uganda,

such care is lacking. Safe Mothers, Safe Babies (SAFE) seeks to improve these conditions through

demand-driven, collaborative, sustainable, and scalable means. We operate on a methodology of

“participatory development” in which we work with those we serve, instead of for them, to define

maternal and child health in local terms, prioritize local barriers to maternal and child health, and

devise locally-sustainable solutions to implement together.

The Safe Mothers, Safe Babies Holiday Gift Catalog, Gift of Life, provides an opportunity for

individuals to join SAFE in working with rural Ugandan women and their families to give the “gift of

life,” while simultaneously checking some holiday shopping purchases off the to-do list. For each

purchase, you can designate an individual who the gift has been purchased to honor. SAFE will then

send them a personalized thank you card, detailing the life-saving gift you made on their behalf and

all that it will accomplish.

Photo credit: Katherine Meese

About Safe Mothers, Safe Babies

Public Health Outreach

Community health fairs provide

immunizations and medications to

women and children for free.

Selling subsidized mosquito nets

reduces malaria. Reproductive

health education through the

songs and dramas of women’s

groups educates villagers in

culturally sensitive ways. Our goal

in December is to reach at least

2,000 women and children through

these and other public health

outreach projects.

Mosquito net—$6 Immunization outreach

(500-700 people)—$120 Safe motherhood home

visitation program, training

for women’s groups

(100 women)—$60

Fortified peanut

butter program

(200 children)—$300

Supporting Women’s Groups

The women of Kalalu Women’s

Voice work with SAFE to educate

rural villagers about reproductive

health. They embed education we

provide into drama and song, then

perform in their communities. This

education is more effective than if

we were to do it ourselves, and is

more culturally appropriate. We

currently work with 4 women’s

groups, all of which support

themselves through community

gardens. We support these

endeavors through the provision of

training, materials, and animals.

Chickens:

Hen—$8; Rooster—$12

Safe motherhood training

sessions—$50/ea. Dairy heifer—$400

Community gardens support

reproductive health outreach

(cost of seeds, training, and

supplies)—$400/field

Milk-producing goat—$200

Organic farming 1 field:

Seeds—$120;

Supplies—$200

Supporting Health Providers

Meet the only health professionals at

Bukoteka Health Center II. Bukoteka

is a very small, 2-room building, and

its funding agency hasn’t paid the

staff since January. They are almost

completely out of the most basic

supplies… yet, when asked if they

would seek employment elsewhere,

the doctor responded “No. We will

stay. The people here need us, we

have become volunteers.” To help

them, we will provide them with

supplies, animals, and farming

materials to contribute to improving

care and supporting their livelihoods.

Basic medical supplies—$50 Training session—$60

LED light with Tripod or

Gorilla Stand—$75

Hand crank (to make

system work

without sun)—$150

Light the Night—Solar Power and

Maternal Health

Can you imagine giving birth to a

baby, or worse having a cesarean

section, in pitch black? When your

doctor or midwife couldn’t see to

deliver your baby? Lack of electricity

is a key barrier to the provision of

quality obstetric care, and is

moreover a reason that some

Ugandan women choose not to

deliver their babies in health

centers. Safe Mothers, Safe Babies

is working with Humless, Inc. to

bring solar power to rural Ugandan

health centers and hospitals.

100W Solar Panel—$400

Humless Road Runner

Unit (w/panel)—$700

Hand-Made Paper Beads

SAFE imports hand-made paper beads

after purchasing them from the civil

society organizations with which we

partner. The beads are made from

scraps of magazine and newspaper

that are rolled on a tube and solidified

with a hardening agent. The women

use the proceeds to support

themselves, and undertake

community projects, which to date

have included community gardens and

a widow support program. Strands are

multi-colored, and generally match

almost any outfit; 100% of the profits

support their makers.

Multi-colored strand of paper beads—

$15 (inc. shipping)

You will receive

your multi-colored

strand(s) of beads

in the mail in 7 to

10 business

Item People Affected Cost Number Total

Mosquito net 3—5 $6

Chickens and roosters 1 family

Hen: $8 Hens:

Rooster: $12 Roosters:

Basic medical supplies 100 $50

Safe motherhood training 30—50 women $50

Safe motherhood home

visitation program

100 women $60

LED light w/stand for

solar unit

500—1000

people/year

$75

Immunization outreach 500-700 $120

Organic farming 30—50 women and

their families

Seeds: $120 Seed:

Supplies: $200 Supplies:

Hand crank (to make

system work without sun)

100—200

people/year

$150

Milk-producing goat 20—30 women and

their families

$200

Fortified peanut

butter program

200 $300

Dairy heifer 30—50 women and

their families

$400

Community gardens 300 — 400 $400

100 W solar panel 500—1000

people/year

$400

Humless road runner unit

(w/solar panel)

500—1000

people/year

$700

Multi-colored Ugandan Paper Beads Order Form

Number of Strands Name and address where strands should be sent

Return these order forms along with cash, check, or money order (payable to Safe Mothers, Safe Babies) to:

PO Box 2205

Provo, UT 84606

Name and address where “honor cards” should be sent:

Name:

Address:

Safe Mothers, Safe Babies seeks to reduce maternal and neonatal deaths and injuries in the

developing world through demand-driven, collaborative, sustainable, and scalable means. We

operate on a methodology of “participatory development,” which means that we work with the

people we serve instead of for them. We work together to define maternal and child health in local

terms, identify and prioritize local barriers to good maternal and child health—both structural and

cultural—and finally devise locally-appropriate, community sustainable solutions that we

implement together. We aim to transition all projects to full community control (administrative and

financial) within 3 years of their start date. By making local citizens the key driving agents of change,

our projects are sustainable, empowering, impactful, and transformative!

If you are interested in volunteering with SAFE or want more information about what we do, why

we do it, or how we do it, please contact us:

Website: www.safemotherssafebabies.org

Blog: safemotherssafebabies.blogspot.com

Email: info@safemotherssafebabies.org

Mailing Address: Box 2205 Provo, UT 84603

Phone: (801) 428-7827

For more information about Safe Mothers, Safe Babies...