For All! Fatouma is working for a better world
This is Fatouma Sadou. She’s an obstetrician nurse at the district hospital in Ansongo, Mali. It’s a difficult job, for a host of reasons, but she is determined to succeed against the odds. On the day that Oxfam arrives to speak to her, Fatouma is upbeat. “Today is Thursday, my favourite day. We run an antenatal clinic today. The clinic is full and I really feel like I’m reaching women.” There is still plenty of room for improvement, however. “I wish that the medicines were free,” she adds, ”so more women could come.”
Life at the hospital isn’t easy. There is a serious lack of equipment, and both the electricity and water supplies are unreliable. “We hardly ever have running water,” she says. “The nurses have to go and fetch water from a well, and from time to time we have to buy bottled water from people selling it nearby.” The electricity situation is equally bleak: “When there is an emergency at night, sometimes we have to work with torches.”
Fatouma is desperate for change, but far from despondent. The first thing she says after introducing herself is: “I love my work because I am here to help women and children.” And when asked about her greatest hopes for the clinic, she answers without hesitation. “My dream is to have a reliable source of running water and constant electricity. I also hope that women will get to know about our work, and will come to the clinic so we can reduce the levels of maternal mortality.”
She spends a lot of time spreading the message about the clinic in the surrounding rural communities. “I hope that women will get to know about our work here,” she says,” so that we can reduce maternal mortality and the numbers of babies that die during childbirth.”
As she goes about her work, Fatouma is confident, caring and assured. The women at the clinic clearly appreciate her help and support, and she is in little doubt about the role the hospital can play in helping the local communities to develop. “In our society, if you want to change something,” she suggests, “you should always start with the women and children. If you reach them, then you can reach everyone.”
One person can make a big difference.
Imagine what six million could do.
