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Certainly, the mistakes have been many, and costly, more so in terms
of lives than dollars. My intent is merely to point out that if every
development scheme were executed with the utmost integrity and professionalism,
many still would show warts. Globalization might mean an increasingly
integrated world economy to you and to me, but it means nothing at all
-- at least in cognitive terms -- to a peasant in a kampung in West Java.
Lindy Backues, who heads the Indonesia office of MRDS, spends much of
his time in those villages. Before me is his research proposal titled,
"The Role of 'People's Institutions' in Empowering Patronless Populations
in West Java in the Post-Soeharto Era." Boiling it down, we may conclude
that power -- and aid -- are transferred through a complex set of transactions
steeped through the centuries in a distinctive cultural tea. Getting aid
to the grass roots is not a tidy, linear process in West Java, and the
systems in Bolivia, Ethiopia and even the neighboring islands of Indonesia
are probably similar only in their messiness.
At a meeting in March, Lindy had the privilege of sharing a table with
James D. Wolfensohn, chairman of the World Bank, and leaders of several
other NGOs (non-governmental organizations) in Indonesia. It's safe to
assume that those present represented a wide range of opinions on how
best to deploy the vast resources of the industrialized world to alleviate
suffering in poorer nations.
It pleases me that our views were represented by Lindy, a leader particularly
well equipped to articulate our commitment to development projects on
a manageable scale implemented by long-term workers fluent in both the
language and the culture in which they work. I only wish those protestors
in Seattle and Washington could hear his views. I'd like to know what
they think.
--Bill
Koops
Miracle of Life
Pregnancy Calendar
MRDS teams around the world are boosting prenatal care into the 21st
Century with a timeless pregnancy calendar designed to bring motherhood
right up to date.
The calendar, designed at our Istanbul liaison office by Katarina Breslin,
a Swedish nurse-midwife and spouse of our Istanbul director, was first
published in Turkish and has just come out in the Macedonian and Albanian
languages. A version in Uzbek will soon be available for use in Central
Asia and another in Arabic may not be far behind.
What's new in prenatal care? Perhaps not a great deal in the West, but
in the Balkans, Turkey, Central Asia, the Middle East and elsewhere, both
medical practice and social custom are evolving. The calendar tackles
such culturally sensitive topics as getting Dad involved in infant care,
still a radical concept in many places.
Because it does address tender themes, the calendar gets a thorough going-over
not only for translation but also for adaptation when MRDS workers introduce
it into a new environment. Translators solicit the counsel of local obstetrician-gynecologists
and others to ensure that the calendar broaches sensitive subjects in
ways appropriate to the culture.
Titled in English the "Miracle of Life Pregnancy Calendar," it features
in Turkish "Katarina Abla," a big-sister figure who introduces some new
ideas to the mother-to-be. Among them:
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Understanding the fetus as a miracle of life needing special care;
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Taking a proactive approach to choosing a doctor;
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Taking a birthing class and learning healthy ways for mothers to care
for themselves during pregnancy;
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A fresh look at intimacy;
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Involving the father in both the birth and infant care;
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Breast-feeding.
A relevant and practical guide to infant care as well as pregnancy in
a user-friendly format, the calendar is designed to serve as a tool in
both traditional one-on-one prenatal counseling and in crisis pregnancy
situations. It includes a response mechanism for those who want more information.
Katarina Breslin found the inspiration for the project in an old pregnancy
calendar given to her in midwife school back home in Sweden. The calendar
tracks the 40-week pregnancy cycle rather than the calendar year and offers
stickers the mother-to-be can use to personalize the pages.
Workers in Macedonia and Kosovo will use the Macedonian- and Albanian-language
versions, the only teaching aid like it in those languages, among women
in those cultures in mother support groups. Led by Barbara Burns, a nurse,
they are making the calendars available at no charge where appropriate
and at cost in other environments. Proceeds will be used to produce more
calendars.
Written at an eighth-grade level, these versions include photos, art
work and diagrams, as does the Turkish original. They include space to
record weight and blood pressure after each check-up to encourage the
woman to visit an obstetrician or midwife for regular exams.
As funds become available, MRDS contemplates versions in English -- for
use in such countries as India and Nigeria -- and Spanish.
--Ed Fowler
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