Yvonne Gibbon, Regional Ambassador for ‘Birthing in the Gambia’ (The BIG Project), recently gave her first presentation.
Invited by Southport’s Soroptimists, Yvonne talked about the project, its achievements so far and its future direction. This is a three year fundraising challenge which will save the lives of countless critically ill women, babies and children in the Gambia.
SI Southport handed over a cheque for £250, from ticket sales for the evening. A further £138 was raised as members took it in turns to guess the ‘date of birth’ of Mariama, Yvonne’s travelling ‘baby’.
Yvonne said, “I enjoyed a wonderful buffet provided by the members of SI Southport’s Programme Action team. A very big thank you to everyone for their hospitality and generosity. This evening’s donation equates to one month’s operating costs of an emergency ambulance in the Gambia – or 16 emergency medical packs for Traditional Birth Attendants – or the training manuals for 18 nurses. It will make a great impact.”
To date, £15,000 of the money raised by the Soroptimist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) has gone towards renovating and extending a 10-bedded labour ward at Brikama Hospital, in a semi-rural area of the Gambia. This work was necessary as three times more women have delivered there over the past six years due to improved quality of care, but the facility was becoming too cramped and crowded. The new ward still needs to be adequately equipped.
The BIG Project (formerly 3E Project: Healthcare) is a partnership between SIGBI and the international medical charity Maternal and Childhealth Advocacy International (MCAI) – and its partner Advanced Life Support Group (ALSG).