GREAT LAKES MEDICAL COLLEGE
PROVIDING HOPE, HEALTH & EDUCATION
The MHCD Medical college educates both midwives and nurses at 4 year diploma courses. Professional health care builds permanent health capacity into communities.
A trained midwife has the same qualifications as a trained nurse and can treat the entire community.
The midwifery and nursing careers were inspired by students attending Birthing Kit Foundation Traditional Midwifery training programs.
MHCD did not have the funds to send students to be educated at midwifery colleges in Uvira or Bukavu, MHCD applied to establish its own medical college. It was approved especially as there was a hospital with a midewifery ward, doctors, nurses and midwives for practical training on site at the college.
The college is based in Luvungi town at MHCD Luvungi Hospital campus.
Students need to have completed their secondary school education. Many students come from poor families, some were orphans, some from remote villages and a few were from the Pigmy community.
Graduating as a midwife or nurse after their 4 years of training, they return to their villages to promote primary health care, treat patients and train traditional midwives and other community health workers. They also open a dispensary or health centre and assist with births. The dispensary provides income to the village and empowers the women in the community. Other services include immunisations, general health care, providing a clean birth when there is no birthing kit available, transferring difficult cases to the nearest hospitals, and assisting with birthing kit distribution.
It costs $800 to train one student for 1 year. A student can be allocated to you to support.
DONATE NOW $800 or $70/month for midwifery or nursing training for 1 year.
Each September the midwives and nurses graduate.
70 have graduated and returned to their communities.
Challenges:
– They do not have enough medicine
– No medical equipment
– No beds and mattresses
– The small houses do not have hygienic conditions
– It costs $800 to educate a midwife/nurse and they do not have the money
Solutions:
– We request all well-wishers to help them in construction birthing huts or dispensaries. Costs $5000 to build a clinic.
– Supporting the program with medicine and medical equipment
– Beds and mattresses that we can purchase locally
– Send containers with medical mattresses of high quality vinyl and inexpensive metal beds able to be cleaned
– Donate funds for the purchase of medical resources
– Sponsor a midwifery/nursing student for $70/month or $800 per year.
Impact:
– They have helped reduce infant mortality and mother morbidity
– The have reduced infections in the community with excellent primary health care
– Community is healthier with nutritional education
– They have improved the quality of general health care in their villages
– The small houses are a starting health centre
– The people in the community used to travel for kilometres to get to quality health care, many never arriving. Having a local health centre saves lives
– The community has access to some medical resources through MHCD, however, it is intermittent due to remoteness of their villages.
