Mummy time
In the governorate of Sohag, writes Serene Assir, better childcare opportunities are making life easier for mothers
Warda Kamel, 25, listens intently while a volunteer social worker from Assiut, Siham Abdel-Moati, describes various means to overcome difficulties in breastfeeding. In Kamel's arms is four-year-old Menna, whose head she is gently stroking. Then Menna becomes restless, removes the pink plastic flower her mother had tied up her hair with and wanders off to play outside.
Kamel, unconcerned, stays on; when it is her turn, she gets up and faces a group of some 50 women of all ages, confidently picking up a doll and using it to demonstrate how to safely hold a premature baby and breastfeed it without causing neck injuries. Then she explains that, though pain is normal, no creams should be applied; milk, which is naturally endowed with healing properties, should be applied instead. Finally, she tells the women that if they regularly breastfeed their new-borns for a full six months, their bodies will adjust and prevent pregnancy. "Natural breastfeeding is by far the best nourishment for your baby," she says. "It is the safest and most beneficial, both for you and for the child."
Once the talk is over, the women sit around for an hour or so, chatting or simply resting. These talks have been a collective effort; and each of the volunteers has worked hard to make them possible. Hanan Kamal provides the venue, turning her living room into a lecture hall, complete with illustrations, posters and props. Though Abdel-Moati was paid to give the lectures to begin with, she was so encouraged by the result that she decided to continue working with these women for free. As for Kamel, she describes the seminars as life- changing: "almost everything I know about good childcare I have learned here. When I was growing up, I was told I should wear dirty old clothes when giving birth, and to give birth on a dirty mattress, so as not to spoil the new ones. We also used to think it was good for a new-born child to eat things other than milk, such as ghee. Now I know both practices are harmful, that they increase the risk of disease, and that they should be avoided."
Precisely because she learned so fast, Kamel was chosen to help Abdel-Moati give the seminars. But she was not the only one to experience empowerment. Other women, including Karima El-Hamdi, have found a platform to share lessons learned with other women. "I married off my eldest daughter when she was only 15 years old," El-Hamdi said. "I didn't think I was doing anything wrong, because it is common for girls here to marry early. To me, she looked like a woman, and so I thought it was the best thing I could do for her." However, she soon realised her daughter was unhappy with her husband and preferred to spend as little time with him as possible. Later, during her pregnancy, her body proved frail and hardly fit for childbearing. "She is happier now, but I decided I must not put my other two daughters through the same trouble. I promised myself I would not marry them off until they were at least 20. During these seminars, I shared this knowledge with other women. Without the seminars, we wouldn't have had such regular contact, and perhaps we would have felt uncomfortable talking about such issues."
Starting in March 2006, regular sessions have been held in the Sohag village of Naje Hamed. Supported and run by international partners like UNICEF and the NGO Terre des Hommes, the project is implemented by a local NGO, the Association for the Development of Society for the Protection of Rural Women. "The importance of the recreational aspect can by no means be ignored," said Fatima Khalaf, who directs the project on the local association's behalf. "Bear in mind that women such as Warda or Hanan would otherwise have little time for relaxation or for one-on-one discussions with other women from the village. For the most part, as mothers and wives, they are very busy women." In addition, Khalaf explained that issues of major concern to women are discussed at the seminars. The dangers of Avian Flu and how to properly clean poultry have been high on the agenda, together with methods to carry out simple tests for iodine in salt. Confidence in public health services has increased -- in itself a positive indicator in what remains a joint Ministry of Health and UNICEF goal. More and more women have been putting their faith in doctors, who for their part have strengthened their own referral systems, according to UNICEF Health Officer Essam Adel Allam: "as the public health system improves, it is important that more families put their faith in the system. Overall, health indicators can only improve if both processes go hand-in-hand."
Above all, the community-based focus has reaped the greatest tangible results, and each of the women's stories bears testimony to the fact. Among the participants have been the older women of the village, including Zuheira Hamada, who said she attended the seminars for the sake of her young grandchildren: "in our village, it is traditional for the older women to take direct part in raising the children. For this reason, I feel it is as important for me to attend as it is for my daughters-in-law. I often take care of the children, and I also provide guidance. Also, believe me, it feels good to be learning new things at my age."
Notorious for being Egypt's poorest governorate -- also its largest -- Sohag has been riddled for years by problems of poor access to healthcare, relatively low indicators for enrolment in school and poor infrastructural development. Given its size and its overwhelmingly rural nature, development has been hampered by its location in the traditionally disenfranchised Upper Egypt and by an overall focus of organisations on improving living conditions in urban areas. Development-related work is also more difficult by default in less privileged areas that have been less exposed to the influence of the centre because there are fewer mechanisms in place to facilitate outreach. Nevertheless, the experience of Naje Hamed also proves the fact that village communities quickly develop strong bonds where they do not already exist, and that positive community-based experiences are well-received and subsequently built on. No doubt, only a participatory approach can guarantee success.
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