African Mothers Health Initiative 2009 Annual letter to donors

2009 has been a difficult year for many people yet in spite of the economic situation you chose to support African Mothers Health Initiative (AMHI) and in turn our sister organization Chimwemwe mubereki (Joyful Motherhood) and the lives and health of Malawian women and children in Lilongwe. While our client load grew in Malawi in 2009 our bank account here had more dips than peaks, which forced us to frequently reassess our ability to move forward. At each breaking point we stubbornly decided to continue and at each point you came through. Thank YOU. During the past year you donated $24,871.83. With this money we have sustained our three programs: (1) Through our vulnerable moms and babies program we provided assistance to 68 households, identifying fragile newborns and following them through age 5, and providing community based support to critically ill moms. (2) We have continued to feed sixty children in our community feeding program, and (3) we have supported seven high school and college students with their tuition. Babies and Moms in our care: Joyful Motherhood is following 71 babies including seven sets of triplets (one set is orphaned), and four sets of twins, all of whom are orphaned and six moms who are experiencing slow recoveries from complications related to birth. Here are two stories of our beneficiaries: Chimwemwe's mother hemorrhaged after his birth and died in November 2007. Mai Siithawika, an elderly woman from his village, took him in to her home and care. Joyful Motherhood provided formula until he was 9 months old. He is now two years old and is healthy and growing. Beatrice continues to visit him every two months. Batiyere was born in January 2009 and his mother died in June. The death of his mother orphaned Batiyere and his four siblings. Lacking guidance and support from adults the oldest daughter, age 13, assumed care of her four younger siblings in a one room hut in the mother's village. Beatrice has taught the her about hygiene, sanitation, nutrition and child development and provided formula for the baby. Meanwhile, with the aim of increasing the support given to the children by the village, Beatrice gathered the village leaders together to speak about the situation. Beatrice continues to visit the children and advocate for them in the village.

Highlights of the Year: Chikumbutsu, one of the first babies who Joanne began following in 2006, will soon be celebrating her fourth birthday. Her mother died moments after her birth and she was discharged into the care of her father and grandmother. Though she was hospitalized several times during her infancy she is doing well. This is a wonderful milestone and we celebrate her life and the lives of the many babies that have followed in her footsteps. Martin Nayopa, one of the adolescents who you have supported in his college diploma completed his course in Nutrition and is currently volunteering with Chimwemwe mu'bereki. Outstanding Service: Beatrice Namaleu, the sole employee of Joyful Motherhood, is amazing. We want to hoist her on our shoulders, sing her praises, give her a trophy, and pray she lives 100 healthy years. Beatrice is a Malawian nurse, with 30 years experience, who after retirement took on our programs whole-heartedly. She does everything possible to check on our moms and babies and ensure that they receive the care they need and deserve. She is a professional with great love and great humility. She frequently rides on the back of bicycles for hours at a stretch to remote villages, she hitches rides on the back of motorbikes through rain and mud, and rides in the beds of pick-up trucks. She has no office, no auxiliary staff, just one malfunctioning computer, her own ingenuity, our cheers from the sidelines, and the gratitude of her patients. Beatrice you are our hero! Volunteer Contributions 2009: We appreciate your participation and your creativity!! High school sophomore Caden Broussard held a karaoke night fundraiser in Oklahoma and raised $1800. Jennifer Sauer encouraged donations with her sales of rare Malawian tea. Kim Leyer and Meredith Kruger organized a cute baby contest. Vivesana organic skin care pledged a percentage of their profits. Rachael Gilg and Beth Stone helped with us our website. Kyung Endres, Genevieve Grabman, and Hannah Haigler have invested their time and considerable talents to assist us with grant-writing. In Malawi Ruth Campbell has helped Beatrice with office work and organization and many others have offered Beatrice rides to the villages. Board Updates: This year we said goodbye to Heidi Dunbar who resigned from the board to give birth and care for her beautiful baby Gus. We are grateful to Kim Kessler who stepped forward to take her place and contribute her energy and experience to our team. How you can help: We always appreciate your financial contributions. It costs approximately $1.30 per day to support an infant or a mother ($39/month). $25 will provide 180 bowls of enriched porridge. $60 will provide enough formula to support a baby for one month. Our programs are ongoing so please consider making a recurrent monthly donation through JustGive.org. Checks for African Mothers Health Initiative should be sent to 6808 Belford Dr. Takoma Park, MD 20912. All donations are tax deductible (our tax ID is: 260423197) and all sized donations are received with gratitude. We also appreciate your talent. We are seeking volunteers with skills in marketing/PR, graphic design, and fundraising. Please contact us at admin@africanmothers.org if you are interested. If you have creative ideas for outreach which you would like to help implement please let us know. GREAT NEWS! Even without time or money or talent you can still help! Use www.GoodShop.com to make your online purchases and www.GoodSearch.com to conduct your internet searches. There is NO additional charge to you but companies you buy from (e.g. Orbitz, Apple, eBay, Toys R us, and many more) will give us a percentage of your purchase if you select us as your cause on these two sites. If you plan to do some of your Christmas shopping online, search for your favorite stores on GoodShop. GoodSearch is powered by Yahoo and donates a penny for every search you make. Download their tool bar for easy internet surfing. Finally, don't forget to join our cause on Facebook and invite your friends. Goals for 2010: For AMHI, in the US: We have learned that we don't have to wait for change. We don't have to wait for governments to take initiative or corporations to take initiative. We little people can take initiative change the world with our hands. We want to spread the word, continue to fundraise, apply for grants, and build a campaign for moms and babies built on hope, faith, and action.

For Joyful Motherhood, in Malawi: We are receiving referrals to our program faster than we can keep up. We are looking forward to hiring additional staff to ensure that we maintain quality service, transparency, and integrity. We want to make sure no more babies or moms fall through the cracks in Lilongwe, Malawi. We are aiming to increase our resources to adequately take on 2 new moms each month and 4 new babies each month. Once our current students graduate from their programs we will phase out the tuition assistance programs. Thank YOU. We began this journey with little more than a platform for voices of need. It was your trust or perhaps your insistence that things change which led to the creation of AMHI and our sister nonprofit Chimwemwe mu'bereki (Joyful Motherhood). We have a long ways to go in meeting the needs of Malawian women and babies but we celebrate what has come into existence and the lives which have been positively impacted. It is no overstatement to say that many infants are living today who would not have survived the circumstances of their births without AMHI and Joyful Motherhood and your support. We want to express gratitude for your passion and tenacity. May your new year be filled with blessings, Joanne Chiwaula AMHI Founder & Director