You can go to this section of the WHOwebsite and read about 5 different women in 5 different developing countries having babies–it gives snapshots of these 5 women at different stages of their pregnancy and upt to a year after their child is born.  It is sobering to think of the realities that faced the mothers of my children.  

9.7% of births in Ethiopia are attended by a skilled attendant.

1 in 14 women in Ethiopia die during pregnancy or childbirth.

only 27 % of pregnant women in Ethiopia receive/have access to prenatal care.

In Ethiopia, 37% of infants between 6 and 11 months are underweight.

In Ethiopia, 38 in every 1000 babies die in their first seven days of life from preventable diseases.

In Ethiopia, 110 in every 1000 babies die before their first birthday.

In Ethiopia, 1 in 6 children die before their fifth birthday. The majority of these deaths are due to preventable and treatable conditions such as pneumonia, malaria and measles.

In Ethiopia, only 17% of children under five years old sleep under bed nets to protect them against malaria.

So this drives me, pushes me, forces me, to want to make some sort of REAL contribution to the country that has given me so much.  I am going to start raising money to buy Mosquito nets for beds.  I am in contact with my agencies director to try and find an already established outlet to make sure that these nets get to families with children who live in areas that are susceptible to malaria. 

If you are interested in donating money to this effort–I implore you to do so–contact me at dawn @ sbcglobal dot net.  I will set up a streamlined way to collect donations.  My goal is to be able to provide as many nets for as many families as I can. 

How will you help?  What are willing to do to change the quality of life of another human being?