As part of its signature projects, the Rotary Club of Lagos Festac Cosmopolitan has donated over 40 safe birth kits to pregnant mothers in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State.

The donation was made at the Amuwo Odofin Primary Health Centre, Festac, on Monday, when members of the Club visited the women, who attended the ante-natal care.

Speaking at the event, the president of the Club, Dr. Margaret Agada-Mba, noted that apart from being one of the areas of focus for Rotary, it was also the Club’s contribution to the fight against child and maternal mortality, which has been on the increase since some women prefer to give birth at home because they cannot provide the materials needed for delivery in hospitals.

She said: “We realise that the reason some women would want to give birth at home is because they cannot afford the items required to deliver in hospitals. And when they do that, most often, it is either the mother or the child dies, due to lack of appropriate care. So, we decided to reduce that child and maternal mortality by investing in the materials that they need in the hospitals.

“So, every year, we donate safe birth kits that contain everything that they require to put to bed successfully to ensure that both mother and child are safe. And so far, the women have been very excited, and this has really impacted the Amuwo Odofin community as far as maternal health is concerned. Each kit contains sanitary pads, cut clamps, and in fact, all that they require for safe delivery. It is part of our area of focus in Rotary.”

Receiving the donations, the Head Nurse at the Health Centre, Boika Queen, described the gesture as a welcomed development, stressing it would go a long way to assisting the women, particularly those ones that are not able to get their things ready.

“And I am sure they are all happy. We appreciate and encourage them not to stop but to continue the good works, so that others will also benefit in future,” she said.

One of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Tosin Eze said she was excited to have got the kit from the Rotary Club. “I am very grateful to them. I really appreciate them. I heard that they have been doing this for the past four years, but this is the first time I am benefiting from it,” she said.

Another beneficiary, Mrs. Chinecherem Okonkwo, expressing how happy she felt about the donation, said: “I am excited and glad that considering the hardship in the country, they still remembered the pregnant mothers. It will help us a great deal, and I am very happy about this. God will bless and multiply them.”

In a related development, the Club equally visited one of the junior girls’ secondary schools in Festac, where materials that would enhance their personal hygiene were equally donated to the girls

Dr. Agada-Mba said the month of March in Rotary year was dedicated to water sanitation and hygiene and it was in fulfilment of that that the Club decided to visit the girls.

She lamented that people underestimate water sanitation and hygiene, and stressed that they are what the girls need to make life comfortable for them every day.

“We have chosen the girls in junior secondary schools because young girls growing into adulthood always have issues with hygiene, especially when it comes to personal hygiene, like their menstrual cycles and all that.

“So, they need sanitary pads and comfortable rest rooms in their schools where they can go and change if they are soiled or something. Some people will not want to go there because the place is not clean. So, we have brought a lot of cleaning agents that will help them maintain their sanitation facilities, such as their lavatories. We have also brought personal hygiene items like sanitary pads that will help the girls, however shortly that can be.

“We have cartons of sanitary pads and a number of cleaning agents like brooms, detergents, mop-sticks. In the end, we want our girls to be comfortable when they go to school to learn. Whatever we are providing will help them take care of their hygiene so that they can be comfortable and focus on learning while they are in school,” she stated.