At our holiday fundraiser, the Giving Health Soiree, we announced that a long time friend and supporter would be joining the GBF team in 2012. Many of you have heard us mention reference Dr. Rhoda Peters from time to time as she was our first friend and partner in Bomi County when we launched our Maternal Care Packages project and adopted our first maternal ward. Two years later, she currently oversees all medical operations at the Liberian Government Hospital as Chief Medical Director. We adore and admire her not only because of her accomplishments, but also because of her work ethic and heartfelt commitment to mothers and children. On our trip to Liberia in Summer 2011, we had the opportunity to meet her newly adopted son (below). His young mother died in childbirth.

See her interview below and read more about Dr. Peters here.

Dr. Peters with her son whom she adopted last year after this mother died in childbirth at her hospital. Unfortunately, she could not save his mom.

GBF friends are not strangers to Dr. Rigo Muhayangabo. We lodged with Dr. Rigo and the International Rescue Committee staff in Kolahun, when conducting our learning case study targeting pregnancy and liberian youth girls last summer. He became a trusted friend during our stay. And over the past couple of months, he’s come to be formidable informal advisor to the Maternal Care Packages program in Liberia. When we reached out to him about formalizing his role he was more than excited. Meet Dr. Rigo below:

1. Who is Rigo?
Rigo Fraterne Muhayangabo M, is a general surgeon, citizen of the Democratic

New Advisor, Dr. Rigo Fraterne Muhayangabo

Republic of the Congo dedicated to humanitarian services. He works as Medical Coordinator with the International Rescue Committee in Liberia, a non for profit organization which serves refugees and communities victimized by oppression and violent conflict worldwide. In the past, he worked with Merlin (Medical Emergency Relief International) in Liberia and with the Ministry of Health in Rwanda through global fund supported projects.

2.How did you get involved with the GBF and why?
I met Mrs Gbomai Bestman Johnson a year and half ago when she introduced to methe GBF and revealed me her intention of coming at Kolahun for an initial rapid assessment pertaining the culture of pregnancy in Liberian teenagers. I found her battle vital but I didn’t say much as I wasn’t sure how things would materialize.

The teenager’s pregnancy and maternal mortality have been a big challenge in Liberia for clinicians and communities. Many initiatives promoting family planing, promoting the use of health services through awareness and free of charge services, the implication of community health volunteers and traditional midwives, and more have failed to stabilize the situation in Liberia. Liberia is still reported among countries with high maternal and infantile mortality as result of complications of pregnancy and deliveries.

With the fore mentioned reasons, and knowing the multiples challenges that our actions are facing in all their phases of implementation in Liberia, i decided to join the GBF to continue bringing my expertise to the change of this unwanted situation into a desired situation where no mother should die in the process of the delivery and no child should die or develop short term, mid term or long term complications.

I was happy to be a part of the team which conducted the assessment on the culture of pregnancy in July 2011 at Kolahun-Lofa county-Liberia republic. The findings of this study will serve in the future proposal development and as baseline to monitor the improvement of this situation.

As we grow and scale as an organization, we want to make it a habit to introduce new leadership to our supporter. We kick off the new year by welcoming three amazing advisors to our advisory board – some of whom you are already acquainted with if you have been with us since 2009, others you will be excited to meet. We start by welcoming seasoned health systems professional Meredith Safer Guardino!

How and why did you become involved with GBF?

New Advisor, Meredith Safer Guardino

As part of my work with CHAI, I spent a lot of time in Bomi County working with Dr. Rhoda Peters and the County Health & Social Welfare Team (CHSWT). I happened to be at the Bomi Government Hospital with Dr. Peters when Gbomai visited to unveil the remodeled pediatric room and mama-baby kits GBF had donated.  I’m a huge fan of Dr. Peters and anyone who knows her knows that Dr. Peters loves her mama-baby kits as an incentive for women to deliver at a facilities. I was pleased to meet Gbomai as someone who made it possible for Dr. Peters and the CHSWT to be creative and quickly implement. Gbomai’s enthusiasm is infectious and we kept in touch after that meeting. I was impressed with her efforts to understand and impact the big challenges through direct assistance to individuals. I’ve enjoyed watching GBF develop and helping where I can.

You have footprints all over the world from reputable firms to developing countries – from JPMorgan Chase to Syria. What lead you to working in little ‘ole Liberia?

Nothing little about Liberia in my opinion. I was leaving graduate school and most of my research and work at that point had focused on healthcare for marginalized populations, specifically aging refugees and prisoners- populations that motivated me because of the extra advocacy needed to access healthcare. I had great experience with UNHCR in policy and fieldwork for older refugees as well as with US prisons in healthcare and end-of life care for aging inmates. I was interested in working with marginalized populations in developing countries and was fortunate to be presented an opportunity to work more broadly on health systems with CHAI in Liberia.

This summer we asked the Liberia girls we worked with to draw three things every Liberian girl needs. We’d like to know what you answers would be, based off your experiences in Liberia. Shoot!

Intresting Nichole… I’d love to know what the girls’ most common responses were.  Obviously I’d like to see Liberian girls, like all Liberians, have equal access to quality: (1) healthcare, (2) education and (3) professional opportunities. In addition to those standards, if I can add a 2a, I’d love to see more Liberian girls develop independence through arts education and careers.

Read more about Meredith here>>

We can’t help but notice the irony of recent events in Liberia.

Last Friday, both Leymah Gbowee and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf – two women we admire at GBF – were jointly honored as Nobel Laureates with Yemeni Tawakkul Karman for their collective “nonviolent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.”

Projects Director, Nichole, met President Sirleaf this summer when she and Gbomai traveled to Liberia to conduct GBF's 1st case study.

Seventy-hours later, Liberia geared up for it’s second election since the end of the 2003 civil war. Riding on the coat tails of Gbowee and President Sirleaf’s praises, the election did not disappoint Liberian nationals and the international community that have worked tirelessly to stabilize the republic. In awe, we touched base with family members in Liberia and GBF supporters on the ground. In particular, Dr. Rigo, an advisor to our case study in Lofa reported that “all was well.” Dr. Rigo, a Congolese expatriate general surgeon, works with the International Rescue Committee in Kolahun. He took the 10 hour trek from Kolahun to Monrovia to observe the elections. With confirmations from the ground, we had to be a part of the conversations and victories parties that took place yesterday, online and offline, to celebrate the peaceful voting process.

Although many people and organizations can call this a victory, we believe the real honorable mentions go to the women that have passively and aggressively fought to secure peace in their communities. We invited Leymah Gbowee to the Platinum Health Benefit last year to speak about the power these women have had on the grassroots level and the inevitable bridge between their status and maternal mortality. As both a grassroots organizer, an internationally acclaimed women’s activist, and a self-proclaimed feminist, we couldn’t have thought of a better keynote speaker make this connection. View her address at last year’s benefit here.

Mawine Diggs, Gbomai, & Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, at GBF's Platinum Health Benefit held August 21st, 2010.

The Nobel prize selection committee stated matter-of-factly that, “the world cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society.” But to pursue these opportunities, their maternal health must be made a priority. Not only do we congratulate the President and Gbowee for leading the way to peace and prosperity in Liberia, but we thank them for illustrating the vast reaching capabilities of a woman and her worth. Through our work we have met many women and girls who could never imagine being more valuable than their birthing and domestic functions. But time and time again, women like Gbowee and President Sirleaf are changing this perspective.

A month ago, we were in Liberia getting to know 79 girls in Kolahun, Lofa County. We conducted a learning case study, with the logistical support of International Rescue Committee Kolahun, to creatively step into the world of adolescent girls and young women in Liberia and discover, through their eyes, why 50% of them will be pregnant before they turn 18. Our tools of choice? Disposable cameras, notebooks, and art supplies!

This evening, we invited everyone to our lounge, “GBF Tales from Liberia,” to preview our footage from the field on Chill.com, a video sharing platform where virtual “audience members” in attendance can interact in real-time during a screening. Our guests got to meet four amazingly bright and vibrant girls who told their stories fearlessly and shared with us their answers to questions like “Who do you trust with your secrets?,” “What is beautiful to you?,” and “What items do you need to be ‘healthy?’”.

It didn’t sit well with any of our guests that one of the girls from our case study will not be attending school this semester. We’re in the works of making this a reality. We’ll update you as plans solidify! In the mean time, we’re in planning gear for our first holiday campaign and working on a proposal that outlines our long term idea to tackle the maternal health and well being of the girls we met in Kolahun.

www.Chill.com, the video sharing platform we used to screen our footage from our recent trip to Liberia.

Now, “Culture of Pregnancy: Liberian Girls” is public for all of GBF supporters to see! View Here!

In the future, we will be screening select footage from special events, trips, and many other things GBF on this platform. We’d love to see more of you at our next screening!

Four weeks ago, Gbomai and GBF supporter Sonponrina Williamson ventured to Tubmanburg, Liberia for our 2nd trip to Bomi County, the field in which we adopted our first maternal/neonatal ward back in February 2009. After 14 hours of travel, our lay over in Ghana threw a tiny wrench our way as our tech equipment was stolen from Gbomai’s luggage. However, that didn’t stop Gbomai from keeping a journal of travel notes, Sonporina from taking great photos, and Paul Kangar, GBF’s Liberia correspondent, from capturing great video content to share with you all. Check Gbomai’s update from her first week in Bomi below, and Week 2 & Week 3 within the upcoming days.

Monday 11.22 – A New Bill of Health Liberia

On Monday, Sonponrina & I attended Liberia’s Ministry of Health and Social Welfare “Policy Envisioning and Official launch of Road Map for Development of 10 year National Health & Social Welfare Policy and Plan,” at the Monrovia city hall. It was attended by Resident Doctor of the Liberian Government Hospital Dr. Peters, Liberia’s Chief Medical Director Dr. Bernice Dahn, Minister of Health Dr. Gwanagale, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, USAID, and UNICEF among other organizations. The discussion that took place was centered around Liberia moving forward in good health, highlighting plans to go forward  with new initiatives like Liberia Vision 2030 and a new basic health care package of services that specify maternal, newborn, and child, and republic health.I was already excited to see how these plans will be rolled out within the upcoming years, but I was most excited to be in the same arena with women and men in Liberia who have dedicated their profession and entire lives to the betterment of Liberia. This includes meeting the famous city mayor Mary Bloh, known as the “lady who cleans the city,” whom showed us around the city hall building after the policy meeting.

I was already excited to see how these plans will be rolled out within the upcoming years, but I was most excited to be in the same arena with women and men in Liberia who have dedicated their profession and entire lives to the betterment of Liberia. This includes meeting the famous city mayor Mary Bloh, known as the “lady who cleans the city” and for securing about 5 million from the Bill Clinton Foundation for her city initiatives, whom showed us around the city hall building after the policy meeting.

Dr. Peters, Gbomai, Dr. Benice Dahn, and Sonponrina

Gbomai, Paul Kangar (GBF Liberia Correspondent), Mary Bloh, (sitting), and Sonponrina

Tuesday 11.23 – Due Diligence, Getting back in touch with the mother’s we have helped

Today we headed straight to the Liberian Government Hospital to check personally with Dr. Peters and get a update on what’s happening with the women hospital since August. If you follow us on Twitter, you may remember that Dr. Peters visited me in September when she was chosen to attend an international Health Conference at Yale University. In September, she gave me updates on some of the women I met on my first visit. So this time around, I got the chance to catch up with some of them including a pair of twins born to a 23 year old woman.

See video of the twins here!

Wednesday 11.24 – Meeting with Mr.Lee Mason

Mr. Lee Mason, Bomi County Development officer and assistant minister for planning and economic affairs. Talked about way and means to spread GBF in to other counties, development of the brand, and need to be in other counties. Mr. Mason is a new member of our board.

Thursday 11.25 – One Happy Ending—and one sad one.

I had another amazing day at the hospital – I love meeting these women and learning their stories! But I must admit, it can be a lot to take in…

I met 33 yr. old mother Maima George from in Dagweh Town who had a bouncing baby boy at almost 7 pounds! She was in labor for hours at home with the local midwives…not the trained ones by the hospital. When her water broke, the midwives in her town weren’t to sure if it was in fact her amniotic fluid, instead their kept on telling her to push and that “the baby will soon be here”. After 15 hrs, they brought her in to the Liberian Government Hospital where they needed to operate on her right away. In the end, she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy she named “Bobby Tara” at 1:23pm. This is the reason why GBF supports facility deliveries…for more happy endings like Maima’s!

Take a look at Maima’s baby boy here soon!

However, with as many happy endings there are… more often the end result is a sad ones. I toured the hospital and also met a mom by the name of Massa Gailor. She does not know her age nor when she got pregnant. She never visited the hospital, and in fact gave birth at home. When she saw that the baby was abnormally small and looked “different” per her words, she took the baby to one of the local clinics in Beh’s town (her hometown). The health professionals referred her to the hospital on November 6th but today was the first time she visited the hospital to find out what could be wrong with her baby. We took some video footage where I speak with her about the situation and Ma Nettie briefs us about the likelihood of the baby surviving. the baby is one of the special cases.

See Gbomai’s chat with Massa here!

Nonetheless, I will be at the hospital again next Tuesday at 9:00am with Dr Passawe from the Bill Clinton Foundation, County Health Director Dr. Birch, Liberian Government Hospital Adminstrator Mr. Rogers, and Dr. Peters. Looking forward to this meeting!

Friday 11.26 – Flomo’s first hospital visit

Today, we took a lady by the name of Noah Flomo to nearby Redemption Hospital because she had her baby at home about three weeks ago and had not seen the doctor. She gave birth to her baby by herself on November 4th and later had a nurse in the neighborhood help her cut the unbibical cord. Upon visiting the hospital, the baby was weighed, given 2 vaccinations, and medications to be administered at home for his cold and high fever.

Flomo's Baby Boy at home

See Gbomai’s interview with Flomo and her doctor visit here!

Saturday 11.27 – Enjoying being home

Today, Sonporina and I took a personal day to visit my dad’s rubber tree farm!

Sonponrina and I walk through the fields of rubber trees with Lasana, the farm's Superintendent since my childhood, leading the way.

Gbomai and the young "tappers" that regularly tap the trees for liquid rubber.

Sunday 11.28 – Preparing for the Following Week

Sonponrina and I attended a church service at the Provident Baptist Church here in Bomi County. We also took the day to  arrange our schedule for the week and confirm meetings. From my journal notes, I hope you have been able to gather an outline of what we have been able to accomplish this week! Nonetheless, the pictures and short videologs Sonporina has taken speak volumes and reaffirms why GBF is needed here in Bomi. I look around me and there are too many pockets poverty. You would think that the spirits of the inhabitants of such a place would match their surroundings. You would think that they are beaten up, wounded, and in misery all of the time–yes some are. But there are so many moments of hope and happiness…

Today, Gbomai and a long time supporter of the foundation, Sonporina Williamson, leave for the foundation’s second trip to Liberia -  Ahhh, we’re are so excited to be making the journey back!

If you can recall from our Facebook updates in February, our first trip was quite eventful as we met with Liberia’s Minister of  Health to talk about GBF’s intentions, medical professionals at the The Liberian Goverment Hospital of Tubmanburg, and held a special ceremony for our first maternal ward adoption. In case you recently joined us in our support for Liberian mothers and children subject to maternal and child mortality, you can take a look at photos from our first trip here! We were so grateful to have connected with people like Dr. Peters, the resident doctor of Liberian Hospital, who even visited us this summer when she was selected to attend a special health conference at Yale University – she has inspired us beyond words to continue our work! However, our most proud connections were made with the expecting mothers of the clinics we visited in Tubmanburg. Their response to items you helped us purchase or donated to the Maternal Care Packages was so positive and appreciative. More than this, the resilience and courage they wear daily despite the challenges they face, inspires us even more!

If you haven’t joined us on Facebook, please do, as we will be posting pictures and short updates on the progression of Gbomai and Sonporina’s trip!

We’re off to the airport NOW – catch our minute-to-minute updates here!