Allison: We have kicked off a new ministry here in Soddo. I will write more in depth about it in our holiday snail mail newsletter and on my personal blog but here are a few highlights. We are experimenting and developing a reusable menstrual pad for our OB patients and eventually a smaller one for non pregnant women. With the help of my fantastic Norwegian neighbor, Ingeberg, we experimented two weeks ago with an OB pad made from the blue surgical throw away towels that are often donated to us from the U.S. We trimmed the towel, folded it three times and sewed it securely in place. Then we added a flannel sleeve to the pad and sewed it securely in place. I thought we had a pretty good reusable pad at a cost of 10 birr, about .55. Our hospital tailor made thirty pads and I proudly walked them over to the OB ward to show the midwives. When I showed the midwives they wrinkled up their noses and basically said they would never use a reusable pad. It was unthinkable. You can imagine I was deflated. Then the visiting Dutch midwives waltzed in to the rescue. They assured the Ethiopian midwives that they could clean the pads and sterilize them. The midwives soaked the pads (is this grossing you out yet?) in salt water and removed the blood. They then washed them in the guest house washing machine at 90C. They came out spotless and sterile. Slowly our Ethiopian midwives became believers. With the donated Dutch money I purchased an automatic washing machine last week in Addis Abba that heats the water to 90C. It was installed this past week in the OB ward and the Dutch midwives will begin teaching our staff how to use it on Monday. The Ethiopian midwives really like the idea that the patients are not bleeding all over the sheets and floors and Mark loves that he can now more accurately monitor his patient’s blood outflow. Oh, did I mention that we had nothing before????? Ha! Last week Bekalu, our head midwife, asked me for 200 more! I’m feeling just a little vindicated but will give the credit where it is due, to our visiting midwives. They rescued my idea. (Unfortunately they will be leaving in one week).
The blue surgical towels are awesome to use and are free. Surgeries all over the U.S. throw the unused cotton towels in the trash. But they are so valuable to us. We use them to wipe off the ultrasound gel, wipe off our newborns at birth, to dry the surgeon’s hands, clean our windows and walls, and now to make OB sanitary pads! Please consider saving these towels for our hospital!
L-R: Our hospital tailor with the initial blue pad and then finished product with the pink flannel cover. Inge teaching sewing. One of the midwives from The Netherlands, and a close up of the finished OB pads.
L-R: Our hospital tailor with the initial blue pad and then finished product with the pink flannel cover. Inge teaching sewing. One of the midwives from The Netherlands, and a close up of the finished OB pads.
I am not totally relying, however, on a cloth that I have to import from the U.S. I have made several trips to the Addis Abba Mercado (the largest market in Africa, if that doesn’t make your head spin) scouring the market for an acceptable cloth that we can use. Ethiopia is not like W. Africa where the cloth is beautifully made and designed. We are an emerging market with very little quality cotton, except for the exquisite dresses and shawls that are made on looms. But I have located a few pieces that might work. It will increase the cost, but it may work. In the meantime, Ingeberg and I are working to teach three young women to make a smaller reusable pad. We are teaching hand sewing (I almost flunked home economics) and machine sewing. God really does have a sense of humor in all of this. He doesn’t need the most skilled person to do His work, but He does need the most willing. It is an exciting time to be in Ethiopia!!! Stay tuned for more to come…..
