Why support VSO?
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How does supporting VSO make a difference?
In Sierra Leone, one in eight mothers die during childbirth – one of the highest maternal death rates in the world.
Felicity Thompson ©VSO
Alice Waterman teaches midwifery student Elizabeth Conteh at the Masuba School of Midwifery
Thankfully, VSO volunteer midwife Alice Waterman couldn’t stand by and see these deaths happen – and because of fundraising support like yours, VSO was able to bring her together with health workers in Sierra Leone and share her life-saving skills.
The facilities in the hospital in were basic to say the least, but what’s worse, the staff were woefully undertrained. It wasn’t their fault - years of civil war had robbed the health service of much of its staff.
But soon she was teaching classes of up to 70 health workers a day (just imagine how many that is a year!). And each one of these student learned new sustainable life-saving skills they then could teach to others.
It’s hard to think how many people Alice’s actions helped, or how many thousands of mothers and children are now alive because of her - just one person.
It’s because of support from people like you that thousands of people like Alice can give others the skills they need to change their lives.
That’s the difference your fundraising makes.
How far does the money go?
- £20 will keep a volunteer midwife in Sierra Leone training nurses that save lives.
- £50 means an HIV positive woman in Mozambique can start her own business, so she can afford to house and feed her family.
- £200 will pay for a VSO volunteer to help change lives in Sierra Leone for two months.
- £150 can mean even the poorest children in Nepal will get an education by paying for an education advisor for a month.
- £900 can help change the fortunes of the street children of Dhaka by paying for VSO volunteers to set up a six month education programme.
