Celebrating 2014!!

This has been a tremendous year for Elizabeth Project International!

Some highlights include:

Officially received our non-profit status

Became an official Lamaze Training Program

Offered our first Breastfeeding Counselor Training in the US

Continued Giving Birth Lamaze Africa and Breastfeeding Trainings in Kenya

Offered the first Breastfeeding Counselor and Lactation Educator Training in Kuwait City, Kuwait

Distributed Nacham Bereavement Blankets in Kenya and Kuwait

Distributed Preterm Babies Bonnets and Booties in Kenya and Kuwait

Saw women engaged, educated, equipped and empowered

Had an increase in passion and vision to minister to women around the world!

We ended  our year with an amazing trip to Kuwait City where we partnered with Birth Kuwait to bring childbirth educator, breastfeeding counselor and breastfeeding educator training to participants from the Gulf State Region.  It was a tremendous 10 days!

The women of Kuwait  won our hearts immediately!  We learned so much from them and enjoyed their generous hospitality.

Since our training in October they have begun offering Breastfeeding Support for the women in Kuwait and also have begun teaching Breastfeeding Your Baby Lactation Education Courses in english and in Arabic.  They are an amazing group of women and we are so honored to serve them.

It takes teamwork to make it happen.  We have people who give generously to our work and that enables us to give generously to those who have need.  We have people who pray faithfully and God has blessed beyond what we can think our imagine allowing us to share His grace and love with those we serve.  We have those who make blankets, bonnets and booties and we are just the messengers to take these gifts of compassion to hurting parents.  We have a team willing to go, to train, to sacrifice so that others will be blessed.

As we end 2014, a huge thank you to the team!!!!! 

2015

The calendar is filling for ministry in the new year!

Please see our webpage at www.elizabethproject.net to see the training programs planned for the year.

Our webpage will also give you information about how you can join the team and make a difference in women's lives with Elizabeth Project International.

Honoring Mothers

She was a petite, black haired women with a southern accent, clearly identifying her family background.   She loved music, art and all living creatures.  I'll never forget a warm summer night in Florida, when she called me outside to see a slick green frog that was allowing her to pet his head.

The squirrels would come running out of the trees to meet her went she went in the garden to put out nuts and corn and the raccoon family came to the front porch for her special treats.  The love she had for animals was only surpassed by her love and compassion for people.

On Sundays she provided roast beef, rice, vegetables and a special dessert for the family.  She would start the meal on Saturday evening so it would be ready when church was out on Sunday.  She loved God, practiced her faith, and took seriously living life as an example of God's love and grace.

Even with her strong convictions, she was kind to all.  She was generous with her time and resources.

She had the most tender touch I have ever known.

I loved her.  She was my mother.

  On May 11, 2014 we will celebrate Mothers Day in the USA, but the tradition of honoring mothers on a designated day varies around the world and occurs 11 months of the year!  People are celebrating  Mother’s Day somewhere in our world in every month, except September!

 

Tragically, there are many places in our world where Mother’s Day will be a reminder of the loss of a woman dear to her family or the loss of a precious baby that was loved and eagerly anticipated.

Every minute of every day a woman dies in pregnancy or childbirth.  This means around 287,000 mothers die every year.  With education and support most of these deaths are preventable.  Globally, 10 million infants die each year.  Many of these deaths could be prevented with education and increased care.

The mission of Elizabeth Project International, Inc. is to provide maternal and child educational programs, empowering mothers with evidence based information, skills and support, while advocating for dignity, compassion and best care practice healthcare.

Recognizing the significance and spiritual impact of birth on a woman and her family,

Elizabeth Project International, Inc. is a faith based organization committed to nurturing faith and spiritual growth in those we serve.

We accomplish this mission through educational and support services

Including:

Childbirth Educator Training

Childbirth Courses

Breastfeeding Educator and Support Counselor Training

Breastfeeding Courses

Bereavement Counselor Training

Bereavement Support Programs

Nacham Bereavement Blankets

Bonnets and Booties for Preterm Infants

Baby Boutique- Gently used clothing for Infants in Developing Countries

God is opening doors of opportunity for us to offer trainings in Virginia, USA, Kenya and Kuwait in 2014.  With your support we can say "YES" to these opportunities.

We would like to ask you to be a part of this effort of  supporting mothers by ministering God’s grace and hope through education, compassion, and physical support.

For your generous gift of $20.00 or more,  Elizabeth Project International, we will send you a beautiful hand carved figurine of a mother and child.

This beautiful figurine is hand carved in Kenya from stone mined from the Kisii district.


You can make your donation online today using our convenient PayPal option or write to us at:

Elizabeth Project International
406 Fincastle Farms Road
Bluefield, VA 24605

Thank you for your support!

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Overcome Evil with Good!

Meet Kenyans who refused to allow an act of terror to hinder them from embracing opportunity to become childbirth educators, breastfeeding peer counselors and lactation educators!  Brave women and men who want to make a difference in their world and in the lives of women, babies and families!
Their faces tell many stories.

Peer Counselor Associates in Kibera Slum

Lactation Education with mother isn Kibera

Breastfeeding Support Program Peer Counselor Training had participants from Kenya boarder town  Busia, Nairobi, Kisumu, and Uganda!

Giving Birth Lamaze Africa with facilitators from DUKE AHEC Lamaze Training Program trained 24 new childbirth educators!

Nacham Bereavement Blankets and Bonnets& Booties for Preterm babies were distributed to health center in Kisumu, Nakuru, Busia and Kampala, Uganda.

We also received a donation of newborn clothing and blankets from a former Lamaze client and loving mother in Nairobi.    

                                                                                                                         These items were distributed to a rural clinic in Busia, mothers living in the slums in Nakuru and a home for pregnant teen mothers in Uganda.

In a city of gunfire, explosion, uncertainty, grief and loss our committed facilitators carried on and our participants were focused and engaged in learning.  But even more happened in our week together...hearts found healing, chains of insecurity were loosed, hope and vision were planted.  Only a mighty God can do such things.  May He receive all glory.
As partners with Elizabeth Project International share the victory of good over evil!

Ready- Set-GO!!!

It has been an exciting week in Nairobi!  Workbooks are printed, registrations confirmed, teaching aids assembled and we are ready to begin our training of Childbirth Educators, Breastfeeding Peer Counselors and Breastfeeding Educators!

We also have had fabulous time Tuesday and Thursday meeting with volunteers in Kibera who want to be trained as Breastfeeding Peer Counselors.  Listening to the challenges they face was sobering.  One of the issues that came up in our discussion was the affect of maternal malnutrition on breastfeeding.  We worked together exploring ways we could help these mothers as we offered Breastfeeding Peer Support.  There were excellent suggestions, one of which was organizing women in the community to check on these mothers in their homes so they can better understand each situation and what is needed.  We discussed how ten mothers giving one shilling each (a little more than a penny each)  could provide one meal….yet one meal might be all the new mother would have for the day.  The answers do not come easy, but the first step is to embrace the challenge.

We have also had the opportunity to distribute Nacham blankets and Bonnets and Booties.  While meeting with administration at one of the private hospitals we were informed that as we spoke a bereaved mother was near birth so the Nachma blanket would be given to her immediately.

The Maternal Newborn Nursing Director could not believe we had brought bonnets and booties for preterm babies!  Her exact words were “How did you know we needed these?”  I replied, “I didn’t, but God did!”

We have also had opportunity to share with people why our project is named the Elizabeth Project.  That has been lots of fun!  Explaining the story of Elizabeth the post-menopausal women who was pregnant and Mary the unmarried pregnant teen who was pregnant catches peoples’ attention.  I can’t understand how people can find the stories in the Bible boring!

In short the words of Elizabeth, ‘NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD’, has been reality in our lives this week!

We also wanted you to meet precious little preterm twin girls. We have worked with them and their parents all week . Wednesday we had the joy of seeing the larger twin begin breastfeeding.  Their mother was so happy and relieved!  What an honor to work with this family

Your giving, prayers, work and interest make this all possible.  An African proverb says “Many sticks in a bundle are not easily broken”.

Thank you all!  More news to come!!!

Sprinkles of GRACE!

These babies are ready to travel!!!

Tickets are purchased, registrations are finalized, supplies are being made and gathered and excitement is building for our September Trainings in Nairobi, Kenya!

Every step of the way is an adventure of faith.

For instance, I found the first baby model on sale in Virginia Beach, Virginia a few weeks ago.  The price was right so I began the search at Dollar General Stores across Virginia!  When I returned to Bluefield I decided to ask the manager if he could help me find 25 ethnic dolls for the training of childbirth educators in Kenya.  He was going to be away for a few days but looked the item up  and said they are discontinued.  He offered to order dolls and see if we could get them.

I decided to try another store in Princeton, Virginia. The manager there was helpful and offered to call area stores and have them hold dolls for me!  Meanwhile, my daughter arrived with two of my precious grandsons.  Pappy agreed to have some guy time with the boys while we went on a doll crawl!  This area is new for me so with my daughters phone GPS we went  from town to town collecting babies.  After the first day we had 17 dolls.

Saturday after my daughter and the boys had departed for home my AMAZING husband agreed to another day of doll searching.  It was a blast and we ended the day with 30 babies!

I share this because it wouldn't have happened without a generous donor,  helpful store managers, my daughter and her GPS, my husband and his sense of humour as well as patience, and a huge bucket of God's grace!

It may seem insignificant to many people, but those kind of everyday grace sprinkles on my life make me laugh and trust that God is really in the details of life.  Each person made an investment.  I shared this with the store manager in Bluefield.  He responded "Gee, I never think about making an impact in Bluefield, let alone Africa".  But he has and does!!!

My heart is filled with awe and joy!