Hi, friends, family, and rad community,
I’m writing because I’m preparing to head back to Honduras
for another doula trip in December! I’m so amped. Last year, folks generously sent me down there with
some awesome donations for the hospitals, families, and midwives that I
collaborate with. Your generosity really blew me away, and I’d like to
emphasize again that, while I’m pretty uncomfortable asking people for
donations of any kind, everything went
to really good use.
If you want to stop reading now, that’s fine.
Anyway. I’m also uncomfortable describing in a big public
way the conditions that make these donations necessary, but I’d be happy to
talk to you about it one-on-one. Suffice it to say that there are a lot of brave, rad, smart women giving birth to
gorgeous, brilliant, deeply loved and celebrated babies under conditions that
are totally unfair to everyone involved. Not for lack of trying on the part
of families, communities, and medical staff, but because our global health system wages a war on the poor.
Paul Farmer says that, in
order to implement good care, one needs Stuff, Space, and Staff. There‘s
not much I can do to help with Space, because I am only one woman, and that
woman is neither an architect, nor a construction worker. But! The other two
are indeed within my purview.
STUFF: Any donations I collect will help offset the awful
dearth of necessary Stuff in hospitals and at home births in Honduras. This lack of stuff is an obstacle to birth
safety in every way, both emotionally and physically.
As far as STAFF goes, I’m really excited about this part: this
time around I’ll be working with Dar la Luz Honduras (a group I’ve been
associated with for about six years now) to help establish volunteer doula programs at public hospitals in the major
cities of San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa. I’m also hoping to offer free doula training to women from those cities
who want to volunteer their time as doulas.
It worked great to make
an Amazon Registry and let people choose what they wanted to give, so I’m
doing that again. I’ve included stuff
that will allow me to make donations in three categories.
-To create safe birth
kits for midwives who deliver women at home. Most of the stuff in these
birth kits is devoted to preventing
umbilical tetnus and other neonatal infections (still the leading killer of
babies worldwide). I’d also love to
bring some fetoscopes and pinards for hearing babies’ heartbeats, as those are
tough to find in Honduras.
-To create doula kits
for the women I’ll be training in Honduras.
A doula’s main present is her presence, but having a few specific, cheap
supplies on hand makes things easier. I also remember putting together my first
doula kit, and how having official supplies made me feel so capable and rad.
-To stock hospitals
with educations (and safety) supplies that will keep doula programs running
in the longterm.
If you want any more info about specific stuff I’ve
registered for, just ask! If you’d like to give money instead, that’s awesome
as well.
HERE IS THE LINK TO THE DONATION PAGE: https://www.tilt.com/campaigns/doula-programming-safe-birth-kits-in-honduras
If you’re anything like me, you have some questions. With
help from my relentless internal monologue, I’ve concocted a little FAQ
covering some of the issues, both practical and philosophical, which might come
up. Please enjoy this navalgazing!
What are you going to
do on this trip?
This time around I’ll be working with Dar la Luz Honduras (a
group I’ve been associated with for about six years now) to help establish volunteer doula programs at
public hospitals in the major cities of San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa. I’m
also hoping to offer free doula training
to women from those cities who want to volunteer their time as doulas. I’ll
also attend some births because I
love it. And I’ll hold all the babies
because babies. And I’ll eat balleadas
because delicious.
Wouldn’t it make more
sense to give money to people already in-country who can provide the same
services rather than traveling all the way down there (and the etc, etc, etc,
the whole package of questions and considerations that fall under that
umbrella)?
Maybe. In most cases, YES. But in this case, there really
aren’t that many doulas in Honduras (YET). I’m connecting up with the awesome
Red de Doulas Latinoamerica y Caribe to stay abreast (…) of how things evolve. I’m really excited about the possibility
of training Honduran doulas and rendering myself obsolete, but for now
that’s not what’s up. The work I do as a doula is different from the work that
the awesome Honduras doctors and nurses do, and I know it helps women and
children, because they tell me it does, and I can see that it does. So off I
go.
Why go to Honduras
(again)?
Because, due to a confluence of circumstances dictated mostly by chance, it
feels kind of like a second home. And I speak the language, and am connected to
an infrastructure that allows me to do
the work that I want, as well as a safety-net of supportive folks who have
my back. But mostly because I want to.
Wouldn’t it make more
sense to offer your doula services to women and children that might not otherwise
have access in your own home community?
I’m working on that! As it is, in almost a decade of
practice, I’ve never turned down a
client for lack of ability to pay, so that’s a start.
How do feel about
asking your friends and family for money/donations?
Kind of icky. But most of ya’ll have assured me it’s ok to
do, especially given my promise that none
of the money or goods donated will be used for my personal travel expenses or
doula practice. I pay my own way, all the way. Plus, my community seems to want to be
involved. Beyond that, I trust ya’lls powers of discernment enough to know
you’ll only give if it’s right for you.
Why shouldn’t I just
donate to a bigger, better established effort?
You should! I love
Medecins Sin Frontiers and Partners in Health for their incredible results,
their transparency, and their deep thoughtfulness.
Why shouldn't I just donate to
an organization in my own community?
You should! DC-wise,
I love Centro Nia, Mary’s Center, and the DC Diaper Bank for the their wide-reaching support of all kinds of families.
Finally! Here’s some reading that might help you orient
yourself to these issues, if you so desire.
One more time,
HERE IS THE LINK TO THE DONATION PAGE: https://www.tilt.com/campaigns/doula-programming-safe-birth-kits-in-honduras
I appreciate your being so thoughtful. I appreciate your
being part of my community. You are rad.
Love,
Anna
