It’s a BOY!
We are happy to announce the birth of Baby Ruben – the first baby born at the newly-dedicated Birthing Center up in the mountains of Camp Perrin, Haiti!
Ruben was born Dec 5th, weighing 7 pounds, 7 ounces and is 19 inches.
His mother – Delencia – walked 5 miles to reach the Birthing Center. This mother of three had never been to the hospital to deliver her previous babies.
The Birthing Center provides prenatal, birth, postpartum, and gynecological care for vulnerable pregnant mothers & babies in the region. The facility include a clinic and 8 Sukup Manufacturing Co. #SafeTHomes.
To help more pregnant mothers like Delecia, click ongoservglobal.org/give, choose “Haiti Projects”, check “Additional Instructions” and write “Birthing Center”.
Read below to learn about the Birthing Center came about from a small church.
“How a God Used a Small Church to Impact Haiti”
by Kiven Lukes of Trondhjem Lutheran Church, Glenville, MN.
A few years ago, our church was about to celebrate its 125th anniversary. With our church membership of less than 50 people who were aging, our discussions kept coming back to “How long will we be able to keep the doors open?” We got so tired of that conversation.
So instead we decided to focus on doing something impactful.
Soon after I met GoServ Global Executive Director Paul van Gorkom at the World Pork Expo and saw the Sukup #SafeTHome for the first time. Next, we learned of a need for a birthing center up in the mountains of Haiti, where there were high infant and maternal mortality rates because of the lack of medical care.
This is a project our church can get on board with!
To get started, property was needed and then it was decided that 8 Safe T Homes would make up the birthing center.
We brought this information back to our church and we all went to work raising money for the project. Excitement grew at our church as donations came in.
Then #HurricaneMatthew hit and scrambled things a bit. Plans changed a little with the birthing center as it was decided to add a hospital building to the Safe T Homes.
So we got to work raising more funds. In April, 2018 a few of us traveled to Haiti to see the birthing center in person. And on Nov. 15th, a dedication was held at the center.
“I would encourage churches to think outside the box. Don’t think about what’s impossible … think about what’s possible. Be impactful!”
