"In Bethlehem, many women still have nowhere to give birth", this is the name of the challenge launched by Manos Unidas this Christmas, but it is also a reality. Many women do not have access to prenatal care, resulting in miscarriages, premature births, complications and high-risk deliveries.
The Three Wise Men
Like Baby Jesus, these mothers and their babies have their own Three Wise Men. A gynecologist, a nurse and a pediatrician travel miles in a mobile clinic 192 days a year, 4 days a week, to treat pregnant women.
Manos Unidas and this team propose a challenge in order to raise funds to finance their work and improve care for mothers and children.
The challenge
Through the donations made, they will purchase a mobile incubator and a pediatric scanner for the Holy Family Hospital, founded by the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.
The funds will also be invested in five Bedouin villages and refugee camps in the Judean Desert. At the mobile clinic, women will receive ultrasounds and children under the age of five will be seen by a pediatrician.
In figures, a donation of 20 euros will give a premature child access to the Prenatal Intensive Care Unit. If the donation is 50 euros, a pregnant woman will have access to the medical care she needs. With a donation of 100 euros, more than eight children will have direct medical care from a pediatrician.
Donations can be made through the Manos Unidas website, by making a bank transfer, through a phone call or by making Bizum. The goal is to raise 108,628 euros.
It is estimated that with the money raised, more than 830 women and their babies will be able to be treated at the mobile clinic. As for pediatrics, the doctor will treat more than 410 children.
In the event that more money is raised than the target amount, Manos Unidas will use the surplus for other general purposes of the organization to address needs in Latin America, Asia or Africa.
