Because of the low levels of literacy among traditional midwives, most of the training takes place in the form of easy-to-remember songs and skits.

Fifth from the right hand side is Kaibeh Kollie, she has a purple bucket perched on her head and clutches her certificate to her chest.

At the women and War photography exhibition, the caption for the photo above reads “graduates of the Trained Traditional Midwife course proudly display their certificates of achievement and their colourful delivery buckets”.

It was the colourful buckets that caught my eye and made me instantly wonder ‘as beautifully colourful as they are, what’s a delivery bucket?!’ I decided to investigate the story behind the picture…

Fifth from the right hand side is Kaibeh Kollie, she has a purple bucket perched on her head and clutches her certificate to her chest. During the 14 year civil war, from 1989 to 2003, Lofa county, where Kaibeh is from, in the North West of Liberia was one of the hardest hit areas, most of its people fled.

Kaibeh returned to her village after many years of exile, “I ran away and went to Guinea and stayed for seven years. Then UNHCR came and asked who wanted to go home. We came back and stayed for one week and the war hit us again.” She and her family then endured another three years of internal displacement, moving from village to village and hiding in the forests. She lost all that she owned, “I lost everything, but I have my life” says Kaibeh.

There was very little infrastructure remaining, roads, schools and hospitals had been destroyed. Not all health centres were operational and those that remained were often understaffed and inaccessible. Women remained particular vulnerable to the post conflict problems confronting all Liberians. Access to basic reproductive healthcare was a struggle.

The Red Cross, in coordination with the Ministry of Health, initiated the training of Traditional Midwives, who frequently oversee pregnancies in rural areas where there are no professional midwives.

The photograph of Kabeih and her fellow graduates is currently on display at the Powerscourt Gallery, Dublin 2, as part of the Women and War exhibition. This exhibition is open to the public and will run until June 30th 2013, entry is free of charge. This moving and challenging collection portrays the many ways in which women have experienced war over the last two decades

Video | Safe delivery: traditional birth attendants in Liberia

Kaibeh was selected by her village to follow the six month training programme.

“The Traditional Midwives are chosen by the community. They are volunteers, who are respected. Traditional midwives play a vital role in the community. So they are very important people and that’s why it is good for the community itself to choose the people.” says Eunice Ekeno, from the Red Cross.

Kaibeh started assisting births 60 years ago. Like most tradition midwives she initially acquired her skills by watching others, “I learned from my mother when we were living here. When the birth attendants were helping a mother give birth they would call and we would help. This is the way I learned until my mother dies and then I started to do the same. I was working without knowing my limits. As long as a woman was in labour, I tried to deliver at all cost.”

Kaibeh walked several hours to and from every one of the training sessions. She has had no formal education; most of the women in the programme are illiterate.

“We use songs and drama to teach them because they cannot read or write. So we teach them in song and drama, they remember when they are at home. Any problem they see they will think about the song and what the song means and they will be able to handle it or know what to do or if to refer the case .” says Beneta Kessely, a Red Cross trained midwife.

Each graduate is given a delivery bucket stocked with all she needs to achieve clean deliveries. The women regularly return to the health facilities for advice and to replenish the supplies of birthing materials. This also allows for important information to be exchanged about the health of her community.

The role of the traditional birth attendant goes far beyond following a normal pregnancy and delivery. She also gives post-natal care to the mother and her newborn and key information to the community on nutrition, vaccination, malaria, family planning and hygiene.

Kaibeh, “It is good because now we understand our limits. We should not force ourselves to manage difficult births. I’ve learned to work for both mother and child. The training has opened my eyes. Now, when we are helping to deliver, both the mother and the child can live.”

Despite suffering a horrific and violent attack aged just 12 years old, Mariatu Kamara has become a beacon of hope and resilience for women around the world.

A native of Sierra Leone now living in Canada, Mariatu is one of the women featured in the Women and War photography exhibition currently on show in the Powerscourt Gallery, Dublin 2.

Mariatu Kamara photographed by Nick Danziger

In 1999, when Mariatu was 12 years old, rebels captured and tortured her as she came home from the fields, then chopped off her hands with a machete.

Remembering that night that changed her life forever, Mariatu says “When they cut off my hands I passed out.  I thought it was a dream which I could wake up from the next morning. But it was no dream.”  She continues, “Ten years on I am still wishing that it’s just a dream.”

“I begged them for a long time not to cut off my hands.  I said kill me but do not cut off my hands.”

Maimed and devastated, she spent three years in a refugee camp, begging on the streets of Freetown to survive.  There were 260 amputees living in the camp, some were children as young as 2 years old.  In this camp Mariatu was given some prosthetic hands, but they were heavy and ‘didn’t look like hands’.

Listen to Mariatu tell her story:

Her resilient nature prompted her to join a camp theatre troupe, and with other young amputees, she helped raise awareness of her country’s plight by performing and dancing.

Speaking at a recent launch of images taken of her in 2001 by award winning photographer nick Danziger, Mariatu said, “I am one of the lucky ones to be here,” adding, “Being part of this exhibition is life-changing. I am here for all those women.”

Mariatu now lives in Toronto. She became a social worker so she could help women and children and is now Canada’s UNICEF Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict.

She has a 10-month old daughter whom she named Amira, meaning “Princess.” She said her daughter gives her hope for the future.

Her book “The Bite of the Mango,” written with the help of Canadian journalist/author Susan McClelland, takes its name from the first food Mariatu ate after she was attacked.

The Irish Red Cross has has joined together with 25 other Irish charities to bring donors The Good Form, a brand new charity taxback initiative that aims to bolster fundraising figures but at no extra cost to the Irish donor.

Twenty six of Ireland’s leading charities have come together under The Good Form initiative in a bid to encourage donors to give again just by adding their signature to the form, allowing their charity of choice to claim tax relief on their donations.

Speaking at the launch of The Good Form, economist David McWilliams said, “This is an enterprising scheme that could potentially boost any one of the charity’s income by thousands of euro.”

Pictured at the launch of The Good Form; CEO of The Mater Foundation – Mary Moorhead, Executive Director of Dogs Trust – Mark Beazely, Economist and broadcaster – David McWilliams and Buddy the Border terrier.Picture Conor McCabe Photography.

“By simply adding their signature to The Good Form anyone who has donated €250 or more in a year can help their chosen charity even further, yet it won’t cost the donor or the charity another cent”, said McWilliams

It is estimated that there are a further 50,000 Irish donors who could enable the taxback on their donations to benefit their charity of choice, with a combined value of up to €15m.

The Good Form is available from all eligible charities in Ireland.  Forms are pre-populated with the donor’s details in order to simplify and speed up the process for the donor.

Members of The Good Form initiative are:

1. ActionAid
2. Alzheimer Society of Ireland
3. Barretstown
4. Bone Marrow for Leukaemia Trust
5. Care Trust
6. Croí, The Heart & Stroke Charity
7. Dogs Trust
8. Fighting Blindness
9. Gorta
10. Irish Cancer Society
11. Irish Heart Foundation
12. Irish Red Cross
13. Jack & Jill Foundation
14. Laura Lynn, Ireland’s Children’s Hospice
15. Merchants Quay Ireland
16. MS Ireland
17. Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services
18. Orbis Ireland
19. Peter McVerry Trust
20. Samaritans
21. Sightsavers
22. The 3Ts
23. The Mater Foundation
24. Threshold
25. Trócaire
26. VSO

• The Good Form campaign is an initiative of the Irish Charities Tax Reform Group (ICTR).  It brings together charities and other good causes to promote greater uptake of tax relief on donations to donors through shared marketing and publicity. See www.ICTR.ie for more details.
  

• For further information or to arrange an interview with Sheila Nordon, Executive Director of ICTR  contact: Rebecca Dunne – Press Officer on behalf of The Good Form campaign – 087 743 3275 or mediagoodform@ICTR.ie

© Ibrahim Mall / SARC

As violence brings death and destruction to the people of Syria, a volunteer ambulance driver has described his life-saving work during fighting at the Yarmouk refugee camp.

On December 17 2012, Hamza – a Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) volunteer – was called to help people in desperate need of treatment at the camp in Damascus.

Violence had left its hospitals completely overwhelmed and unable to take in all of the injured. The 22-year-old student spent the day taking wounded people for urgent treatment outside the camp before eventually returning to base, washing the blood from his ambulance – and heading back to Yarmouk the next day.

He said: “My first case was an 18-year-old man who had been shot in the head. We stabilised him as best as we could and then decided to take him to Mushtahid Hospital where they have specialist support. On the way we administered CPR and tried to prevent his condition from deteriorating any further.”

Throughout that day, Hamza and his volunteers transported nine more injured people to nearby hospitals. As these became more crowded, a SARC operations room used information about which hospitals were filling up to guide the ambulance crew to others where treatment was available. The team’s job became harder as the roads filled up with people fleeing the fighting.

“We don’t take any side… we are only there to help the injured”

Hamza said the SARC’s reputation for neutrality and independence meant volunteers could bring life-saving help to areas that would otherwise have been off limits.

“The Ministry of Health ambulances are not able to enter into areas of fighting but the people in the community trust the SARC emblem and they know that we are only there to take the injured from the camp and so they don’t shoot at us. We don’t take any side in the politics, we are only there to help the injured.”

He added: “When I finished my shift at 8pm I was exhausted. But at the end of the shift we have to come back to the operations centre and prepare the ambulance for the next team. This means washing the blood from the back and properly cleaning everything inside and outside. We also restock all of the medical supplies ready for the night shift.

“My shift on Tuesday was just as busy, but it was much harder to access the camp. As the fighting intensified and there were more people leaving we found it more and more difficult.”

Vital aid in a desperate situation

Across Syria, millions of people have been displaced from their homes or fled the country. Lives and livelihoods are being disrupted, and in many places access to healthcare, and food, water and other basic supplies is still difficult.

The International Committee of the Red Cross and SARC are the only major agencies able to work across frontlines in Syria.

Volunteers like Hamza are risking their lives to provide a lifeline for anyone caught up in the conflict, and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is giving much-needed help to refugees in nearby countries.

The Irish Red Cross Syria Crisis Appeal is raising money to help provide vital aid in a desperation situation. Please donate today.

With thanks to the British Red Cross for sharing Hamza’s story

I text whilst I walk, tweet from the bus and have, admittedly uploaded blog posts from the Tesco biscuit aisle…it’s gone beyond an obsession.  I’m starting to wonder if I’m addicted to my smart-phone.

Two weeks ago whilst driving in Dublin, I noticed three pedestrians about to step into the road whilst staring down at their phones.  They were on opposite sides of a junction leading onto the Samuel Beckett Bridge.  Not one of them looked up to check for oncoming traffic, no one was looking for a green-man, and I’ve a strong hunch that at least one was playing angry birds!  It made me wonder if it is actually possible to become addicted to a smart-phone and how we address the issue of responsible smart phone use.

There are news reports this week of a woman who fell 60-feet down a cliff because she was texting.  Luckily, Maria Pestrikoff in Kodiak, Alaska, lived to tell the tale.  Maria is not the first to experience an unbelievable accident whilst distracted by a mobile phone, YouTube is, unfortunately, awash with texting pedestrians falling into fountains and nearly walking into bears – yes really!

In Ireland it’s illegal to hold a mobile phone whilst driving in a public place.  According to distraction.gov, “Texting is the most alarming distraction because it involves manual, visual, and cognitive distraction simultaneously. Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for 4.6 seconds. At 55 mph, that’s like driving the length of an entire football field, blindfolded. It’s extraordinarily dangerous.”

We may be moving slower than a car whilst we walk and tweet, but it’s no less dangerous.  In Fort Lee, New Jersey, pedestrians can now be fined for texting whilst walking. This follows a four month period in which there were twenty-three reported pedestrian accidents – three were fatal.

Texting While Walking by Casey Neistat

Today FM104’s Thomas held an on the street poll ‘could you live without your phone?’  – The replies were a resounding ‘No’…“No, I just checked in”; “No, I tweet several times a day”; “I use it to write my thesis, so probably not”.

I’d also be hard pushed to give up my smart-phone but I would happily give up my phone rather than become an accident statistic or YouTube ‘hit’.  Using a smart phone whilst walking affects your personal safety, your awareness of the traffic and people around you is an essential part of travelling safely – even when travelling by foot.  Luckily, we don’t have to give up our phones to be safe, we just need to use them responsibly.

So, in the words of the latest ad campaign from Ireland’s Road Safety Authority, “it won’t kill you to put it away”.

Road Safety Authority – Don’t Text and Drive

From Rebecca Dunne, Communications Executive

PS.  From this day forward I pledge to only use my phone when it is safe to do so; I will no longer text whilst walking or blog from Tesco but I will still tweet from the bus.

Every week Red Cross and Red Crescent Volunteers, Staff, Friends and Supporters work hard in countries all over the world to support those in need.  Here’s a few of our favorites RCRC pictures from this week…
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Mother-of-four Jeovina Llambado escaped through a second story window after her family was trapped by floods in Manila. With the help of neighbours, she towed her children on inflated tyre tubes to a Red Cross evacuation centre. Photo: Joe CROPP / IFRC

By Joe Cropp in Manila – Published by IFRC: 13 August 2012 16:10 CET

Jeovina Llamado sits in the Red Cross evacuation centre with her four children, waiting for the water to subside. Many evacuees have already left; returning to their homes as the water recedes, and beginning the difficult task of cleaning away the debris. Rebuilding their lives.

Her home, at the bottom of a long, narrow street, was one of the worst hit by the floods that swamped her community and large parts of Manila, killing 92 people. It still remains uninhabitable, full of mud left by the floodwater.

When the floods first hit, she took her family to the second floor of the house, thinking they would be safe.

“The water came so fast. It followed us up the steps,” she said. “We had to smash a window and climb out onto the roof.”

Jeovina described a harrowing journey through flooded streets, water often up to her neck. With the help of neighbours, who towed the four children on inflated tyre tubes, the family reached high ground at the top of the street where they now sit.

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By Majella Forde, Irish Red Cross Tralee

Aiming to encourage their community members to live healthy and active lifestyles, Irish Red Cross Youth members in Tralee have been busy planning a series of monthly “Fun day Fridays”, providing an opportunity for members of the public to engage in healthy activities for both the mind and body.

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