Sweet Friends, Thanks for considering contributing to a different kind of group gift. One that will truly "Shower Ethiopia with Hope". Let me tell you why this campaign is important to me. You all know that the children of Ethiopia have a huge place in my heart!! So imagine my delight in being able to involve supporting a campaign for a much needed maternity ward at a hospital in rural southern Ethiopia! As my baby girl’s arrival draws close, I have the blessing of going to a highly qualified OB each month, receive weekly emails on the development of the baby, what I should be eating, what I should be avoiding, how to cultivate her brain while still in the womb, and on and on. I am inundated with resources. When she arrives, Ryan will drive me to a modern hospital minutes away where nurses, obstetricians, pediatricians, and my loving husband will all support the delivery. They will have everything under the sun needed to do their best to bring her in to this world safely at their finger tips. Statistically, there is a 1 in 100,000 chance that I will die in childbirth. My baby has a 6 in 100,000 chance of not surviving. In Ethiopia, however, it is a very different picture… An Ethiopian woman in labor is most likely to deliver her baby outside her hut with the assistance of her mother-in-law or maybe an untrained “mid-wife”. It’s not uncommon for her to labor alone. She lives too far away from any medical facility to get help should there be any complications. If there is a hospital with maternity care, she could walk 3 to 4 hours to get there. WALK. WHILE IN LABOR. Can you imagine?? That hospital may not have access to clean water or consistent power. The medical professionals are scarce and the equipment even scarcer. This Ethiopian woman has a 14 in 1000 chance of dying in childbirth; Her baby, a 116 of 1000 chance of not surviving. There is a hospital in Tercha, Ethiopia. It is the only hospital in the entire region which serves over 550,000 people. They currently do not have a separate facility for women giving birth or the resources should any complications occur. It is a hospital which does not have access to a constant source of clean water or electricity. Some friends of mine, who adopted two children from Ethiopia last year, have personally taken it upon themselves to raise the $78,000 to add a maternity ward to this hospital along with the equipment and water supply needed. The money raised through this campaign will have a drastic impact on the lives of the women and their children who live in the region. Learning more about this situation has sparked something in my heart. I am more grateful for the medical care I am receiving (even the expensive insurance I have seems like more of a blessing). I won’t complain as much about the inconveniences of medical tests and the interruptions of nurses at the hospital. I will remember that all of this adds to the health and safety of my most precious child! I am also so grateful for loving and generous friends like you. I know that each of you celebrates the addition of our baby girl and is eager to “shower” me with blessings. Thank you. It would mean so much to me if you would consider donating to this cause as a form of a “group gift” for the shower. To contribute, you can donate on-line directly by following the link on this web-page OR you can bring a check to the shower written to Glimmer of Hope. Keep in mind that 100% of your donation will go towards this project, as Glimmer of Hope has a seperate endowment that covers all of the overhead costs. You can be blessed by knowing that every penny is going to help the women of Ethiopia. THANK YOU! Margaret
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