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| Iranise Fleremé, committee member, Logat |
My
younger brother had a baby, but the baby died. They didn't go to the
hospital, she gave birth at home. When she got sick I went to see
her. People said she had a zombie. But when I saw her, I saw that
it wasn't a zombie – I saw that she had a bad infection and they
hadn't sent her to the hospital. I came and I got two other people
to find a stretcher so we could get her to the hospital [a three-hour
walk]. When she got there they took over her case. It was because
of CHE that I knew what to do. Without that she would have died.
This was in 2012. She just gave birth again, a little girl.
(c) copyright Iranise Fleremé. Used with author's permission.
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| Lupisient Oranise, delegate to the LaHatte CHE committee |
I
really love CHE because CHE has done so much for me. Since CHE came
I have learned so many new things.
I
didn't used to have a home vegetable garden. But a CHE (Community Health Evangelist) came to my
house and encouraged me, so I started one. After I planted the
garden I encouraged my neighbors to start one, too, and everyone now
has one. I go to their houses and I tell them not to cook food on
the ground, not to eat on the ground. In this way children won't be
burned. When I cook my food on an improved, raised cooking stove,
even if dust comes flying it won't be able to reach the food and
bring bacteria.
When
the trainers have us meet they study the Bible with us. This is
another reason why I love CHE, because I know more about the Bible.
They tell us how we should love our brother as we love ourselves.
What we wouldn't do to ourselves we shouldn't do to our brothers. I
have changed. There are so many things I don't do anymore. You
repent – when you remember the lessons you decide not to do bad
things because you are in CHE.
(c) copyright Lupisient Oranise. Used with author's permission.
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| Joseph Francilo, trainer in Logat |
Before
CHE came to Logat we had a lot of pregnant women die in childbirth.
At that time it was really difficult to get them to go to the
hospital. Even the midwives were lacking training. As CHE came to
do perinatal training for the pregnant women and the midwives, the
midwives started encouraging the women to go to the hospital. They
don't just encourage them to go, but they even go with them to the
hospital. So now there is more checking up on the women. Every time
someone has pain they tell a CHE and the CHE finds a midwife or a
trainer. We get a group together and go to her house, and according
to the signs she presents with we may have her go to the hospital.
Fewer women now die in childbirth, and fewer children die in
childbirth. . .
It's now rare that you hear of a woman dying in childbirth, it only happens if she has something particular that's going wrong.
Before
CHE, we couldn't get people to go to the hospital. People thought
that if you took them to the hospital by stretcher they would die.
They thought they should only go by truck, if not they would die.
But now, after training, they know they can go by stretcher [a
three-hour walk]. Everyone is more motivated to help save the
pregnant women.
Before
CHE, churches didn't meet together, they didn't want to sit down
together. We have three churches in Logat. After a week-long Bible
study, in which we had pastors, preachers, and sacristans husband
participate together with us, there has been a great improvement. If
there is a training done in a church, everyone can come to it. When
there are activities, we do them together. This has been since 2008.
Pastor Christian did the training (a missionary that was active in
the program).
Before
CHE, when people were sick they wouldn't tell you, they hid it. Even
when there were vaccination campaigns, the parents didn't want to say
when the children were born. Even the pregnant women didn't want to
say the day of their last menstrual period. They believed they could
die if they told you – it's a belief here. But with training this
has diminished.
There
was another belief, too: women didn't want to tell you about their
bodies. They were shy, they were ashamed, they thought it was
improper to talk about things like this. Through the CHE training
everyone now talks openly. When they are sick they tell you about it
without any problem.
(c) copyright Joseph Francilo. Used with author's permission.
