A Health Promoter's View of the PROMISE Project

A Health Promoter’s view of the PROMISE project

Emmanuel International Canada (EIC) has embarked on a 4 year Maternal Health Project in Malawi. The project is dubbed PROMISE (PROmoting Maternal, newborn, Infant and child Sustainable health Efforts (PROMISE). Global Affairs Canada provides financial support for PROMISE.

In a recent trip to Malawi, Kristy Nowell, Project Coordinator for PROMISE, attended a ceremonial event at Richard Village to celebrate what the PROMISE project has achieved to date. Invitees to this event included Chief Richard, Local Chiefs from surrounding Villages, local Villagers, and the EIC PROMISE Team.

Cecilia Chida, who is one of the eighteen Health Promoters for the Emmanuel International PROMISE project, spoke at Richard Village. Her role as a Health Promoter is to attend training sessions on Maternal Health and bring those teachings back to her village where they are shared with others.

In her speech, Chida shared the impact that PROMISE has had on her village­­­­­­­­­ of Ndumba by telling us that the project’s goals are to reduce the maternal and infancy death and to fight malnutrition. To achieve those goals, she helped us to understand the training that is involved with a few samples below:

• The importance of giving birth in a hospital instead of at home
• Men supporting women by attending Growth Monitoring and Promotion (GMP)
• Hygiene and Sanitation
• The benefits and importance of energy efficient stoves
• Distribution of fruit trees and seedlings
• Providing 13 bicycle ambulances with 13 more to be distributed within the area

Since the PROMISE project has come to the village, Chida says the amount of Cholera and other diseases has decreased.  This comes in part through understanding the importance of Hygiene and Sanitation and building latrines and handwashing stations for each household.

PROMISE is also helping the community combat malnutrition through the training of villagers to grow gardens in their back yards. This give them easy access to nutritional foods, which has been supported through the distribution of free trees and seedlings for 6552 households in 2018. Each household has received one fruit tree seedling of their choice among different varieties including mangoes, oranges, guavas and avocado peas.

Chida ended her speech in thanks of what the PROMISE Project has accomplished thus far. She is looking forward to the remaining time of the project and how it can continue to impact her fellow Malawians.

To date over 57,000 people have heard the teachings and have put those teachings into practice in Malawi. It is through individuals like Cecilia Chida who are making PROMISE a reality for the future lives of many Malawians.