Canadians walk to support change for moms and babies

By Steven Sukkau and ChristianWeek | June 11, 2014

Canadians are putting on their walking shoes to help save the lives of mothers and babies in the developing world.

This spring hundreds of people across North America participated in Steps to Deliver Change, a national fundraising and awareness walk held on Mother’s Day in support of Save the Mothers (STM).

“Mothers’ Day is a great time to focus on mothers,” says STM founder Dr. Jean Chamberlain Froese. “To be thankful for our own, and to contribute in some ways to helping a kid have a mother. Every child deserves a mother.”

In Canada, Steps to Deliver Change walks took place in communities of Bradford West Gwillimbury, Cambridge, Dundas, East Toronto, London, St. Jacobs, Stouffville, Kleinburg and Sudbury. Two Ontario high schools staged events in support of the walk while Vancouver Island and Montreal also hosted events.

Growing up without a mother is too often the reality for many children in the developing world. A woman dying from preventable complications of pregnancy and childbirth is no less tragic because it happens on the other side of the world, says Froese.

Expectant mothers in countries such as Canada have access to technology and communications not available to those in developing countries, where families also contend with lack of infrastructure and medical supplies as well as systemic societal issues that affect women’s rights. This divide is part of the impetus behind STM’s work.

“Women who are on the wrong side of the divide are left behind and end up either dying or living a life of misery,” says Froese.

More than 800 women die around the world each day, 99 percent in the developing world. In Uganda, where STM is based, the population is similar to Canada, yet 6,000 women die every year, compared to 16 deaths in Canada.

Without a mother many children in developing countries grow up without immunizations, nutritious food and education, destined to continue the cycle of poverty, says STM communications director Patricia Paddey.

“Yet where is the outcry at this injustice?” Paddey asks. “But the tragedy deepens, every woman who dies leaves behind, on average, four children.”

STM works with community leaders to address issues related to maternal health through its Master of Public Health Leadership program operated out of the Uganda Christian University in Mukono.

To date the program has educated more than 330 East African professionals, many of whom are now working in local hospitals. Media are talking about the importance of maternal health and politicians have started calling for legislation that prioritizes maternal care.

Advancing awareness of what’s happening in Uganda and elsewhere helps STM achieve its goals in caring for mothers and babies.

“This is really the first step,” Froese says. “To hear and understand the situation and then using whatever is in your hand, to start taking steps to deliver change for mothers.”

To learn more about the mission of STM and the Steps to Deliver Change event, visit savethemothers.org.