Kristen Mangelinkx from UNICEF's Boston office is blogging on her trip to Madagascar. This is her third post.
The launch of Mother Child Health Week in Sambava was quite the event! Hundreds of people from this small community came to the health center to be a part of the celebration. Mothers came with their babies to receive free vitamin A doses, de-worming medication, and vaccinations. We were in the middle of all of this and were welcomed so warmly--there was even singing and dancing in our honor!
We visited two other villages a couple of hours away who were also celebrating the launch despite their health centers being ruined by the recent cyclones. The well in one of the villages had broken that day--a very serious situation as it is the only source of clean water for them. A technician was there to fix it and a UNICEF staff person was going to return the following morning to ensure that it had been fixed.
I'm not able to upload any photos from the launch until I return to Antananarivo. I will try to post them on the blog then. In the meantime, please feel free to ask me questions about our visits!
KM
Comments (2)
Thanks for this word picture of Mother Child Health Week. I am so happy to see that it was a success. I am also impressed with the people who live there: many have so little in the way of material possessions, but time and again I see that they are rich in welcome and hospitality.
As I was reading this blog, I became concerned when I read about the broken well. Then you wrote this: "A technician was there to fix it and a UNICEF staff person was going to return the following morning to ensure that it had been fixed."
This is one of the many things I love about UNICEF. You don't go in for one day, do a little bit for the cameras and go away. You're making sure that a broken well isn't allowed to go from a one day inconvenience to a health catastrophe for the people living in that village.
Thank you for caring enough to not just act, but to follow up, and then share your experiences with UNICEF supporters!
Posted by mmberkeleyca | May 7, 2007 8:28 PM
Posted on May 7, 2007 20:28
Nice post! You have said it very well. Keep going.
Posted by Emily | June 1, 2007 2:00 AM
Posted on June 1, 2007 02:00