Two midwives from Liverpool Women’s Hospital swapped the award-winning facilities in the heart of Merseyside to work at a disadvantaged rural hospital in Tanzania.
Delia Jepson and Cheryl Stanley, who featured on Channel 4’s ‘One Born Every Minute’ show, were in the African country for five days and in that time managed to help deliver babies for the locals at Kiomboi Hospital, central Tanzania.
Cheryl said: “It was an amazing experience and a real privilege. I thought it would be a sad trip but it was amazing seeing the difference that having clean water will make to the midwives.”
WaterAid’s ‘Deliver Life’ appeal partnered up with Liverpool Women’s Hospital to help organise the trip. to demonstrate just how challenging working in poor conditions can be for midwives, and the urgency needed for clean water in less developed places.
More than 4o% of healthcare facilities in Sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to safe water and one baby dies every minute from infections relating to dirty water.
‘Deliver Life’ is WaterAid’s biggest appeal ever and aims to improve access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene in Sub-Saharan Africa. With no running water at the hospital, Delia and Cheryl had to assist in collecting buckets of water in the morning for use throughout the day.
Cheryl had the honour of having one of the babies she delivered named after her, and both the women were able to travel to one of their patient’s home village after delivering her baby.
Delia said: “A midwife’s bond with a mother when she delivers her baby is indescribable anyway so going back with her, meeting her family and seeing where they collect their water was amazing.”
‘Deliver Life’ will help bring clan, running water across Africa, transforming the lives of up 130,000 mothers and will give the staff and patients at Kiomboi Hospital access to safe water and proper plumbing for the first time.