Where women are helping women

By PISAI GUMAR
FOR a womens group to build a modern shelter meant to cater for pregnant women to give birth safely and comfortably shows how important and essential such facilities are needed. Especially in the rural areas.
In Morobe, the Mumeng Women’ Association (MWA) saw the need to do more to try to save the lives of women, and babies, during childbirth. It has built a delivery house at Mumengtaim which will cater for three villages along the Kumalu headwaters in Bulolo who have had a number of women, and babies, die from complications during childbirth.
The lack of proper health and birthing facilities in the past has contributed to their demise.
In fact, this is the first of MWA’s efforts and it is now looking at rolling out the bel mama haus karem (pregnant women delivery house) at Timini-Gurako, Baiyune and Dambi.
The current plan is to build one such facility at a locality that will easily serve the 110 wards in the six local level governments (LLG) in Bulolo district in future.
Mumeng LLG under president Okam Paton and manager Tony Zuhuke are in full support of the women.
Through their partnership, MWA and the LLG already have 27 village birth attendants (VBA), who were trained in 2014. Already, they have safely delivered 448 babies in villages.
In Mumeng alone, the number of deliveries is more than 1,000.
The Mumeng LLG has budgeted K13,000 for annual allowances to pay VBA’s K382. At the opening of the new building at Mumengtaim each birth assistant received K382.
As well as giving his support, Deputy Opposition leader and Bulolo MP Sam Basil has pledged K10,000 towards the cause and promised to connect power to the birth houses through the Bulolo rural electrification program.
The MWA’s initiative prompted the idea to build a health post, a resource centre and an elementary school in all 110 wards in the six Bulolo LLG’s, an idea that was initiated during a council summit in Wagau in 2014.
PNG Forest Products general manager Ian Cobb has described the model set by MWA as something very beneficial and worthy to rural livelihoods and added that the women should be proud of themselves.
He said that while there was a lot of talk about government-private partnerships, not much has materialized but said PNGFP was convinced by MWA’s initiative to contribute towards women.
MWA had sought help from PNGFP, Inca Pacific Ltd and Bush Transport Ltd and that has resulted in the building of the first bel mama haus karem haus for Mumengtain and two villages of Kumalu at a cost of K20,000..
Twenty seven women’s groups in Mumeng each contributed K50 towards the facility.
PNGFP, Inca Pacific Ltd and Bush Transport Ltd have pleadged to support three more such facilities for Gurako-Timini, Baiyune and Dambi.
According to MWA project coordinator Zipporah Bendum and colleagues Betty Serum and Yapisao Geamkisi the initiative to collect money from women’s groups caused many to erroneously think that MWA was promoting a cargo cult type mentality.
Trainings for adult literacy, VBA and family planning were also facilitated.
Marie Stopes in Lae has offered its family planning services and products.
“Adult literacy training enlightened young women and mothers to understand how to manage household budgets, prepare healthy meals, read on health matters, family planning and hygiene pamphlets.
Women were also taught on how to use bank cards at ATM’s as well as how to operate mobile phones while selling produce at markets, collecting coffee beans in farms and ftending to their produce in gardens” Bendumb said.
The mama haus karem will minimize walking distances for pregnant women especially in the rugged mountains of Mumeng.
Pregnant women sometimes walk for hours only to find that the aid post or health center they are going to is closed.
The total estimated newborns for Bulolo in recognized health facilities were 4,944 in 2016.
An estimate of births in the six LLGs in 2016 are; Bulolo – 1,120, Wau -800, Watut -772, Garaina- 560, Buang -403 and Mumeng -1,147 births. The figure excludes miscarriages.
The population figures are; Mumeng -32,048, Bulolo -31,302, Wau -22,364, Watut -21,578, Garaina -15, 654 and Buang -11,257 people. Morobe Minisng Joint Venture (MMJV) has assisted to train almost 100 VBA’s in Watut, Wau, Mumeng and Wafi. Zuhuke said that the LLG royalties from MMJV, K12,000 and K8,000 LLG lands and physical infrastructure (LPI) grants were expended and K4,000 was used to train 21 participants for adult literacy training.
Mumeng LLG has seen many positive changes for women after MWA was established with women’s participation in small scale projects making an impact.