News from this life-saving programme.
The Comfort Babies Project
Eighty nine mums and babies are now part of the Comfort Babies sponsorship programme which supports very vulnerable mums and their babies to become confident and self-sufficient.
Many of these young women suffered cruelly at the hands of relatives or strangers resulting in trauma and pregnancy leading to loss of schooling, low self-esteem and being shunned by family. They often come to the programme very broken and to see these amazing women find strength, confidence, friendship and purpose is very moving.
We are very grateful for the ongoing generosity of our supporters to the Comfort Babies programme through sponsorship, donations and fundraising. We are also thankful to those who promote the sponsorship aspect of the programme helping to find new sponsors quickly when the need arises. As the Comfort Babies programme becomes increasingly known in Kigali requests for help are also increasing. The team thoughtfully target support towards those mums and babies who need it most, and who do not have access to other sources of help. Hospital medical staff also contact the Comfort Babies team if they have a particularly vulnerable mum and baby in their care.
Impact of Covid-19
There have been very strict Covid restrictions in Rwanda which have had a big impact on the running of the project :
- Gatherings restricted: Normally, the Comfort Babies community thrives on gatherings which benefit the mums in many ways including education, health monitoring, friendship, and spiritual and pastoral care. The reduction in opportunities to meet together has been a real loss to the mums.
- Working from home: Government guidelines have required most of the Comfort Babies team to work remotely which has made it much harder to deliver the same level of care to the families in the project.
- Health: We are pleased to say that none of the mums have had Covid-19. One team member has already been vaccinated and Comfort Rwanda has requested vaccinations for the rest of the team.
- Curfew: The government imposed an evening curfew to help manage social distancing. This has badly affected the business sector. Our mums who had started businesses faced dreadful losses as shopping times changed, and many normal clients were lost. Income dropped drastically whilst taxes and rent costs remained the same, so most small businesses have become unviable. This has affected mums who were already established in a business and also those who were training and planning to start a business. Their future plans are now less certain.
- Face masks: Wearing a face mask when outside of home is mandatory in Rwanda. Comfort Babies has been able to provide 500 face masks so far this year for many Comfort Babies mums, their families and relatives – however there is still need for more. Many people find it hard to keep a mask on all of the time as the local temperature makes it uncomfortable. If someone lifts their mask at all and are seen by authorities there can be consequences including being detained for a day and a fine. Some mums have missed a day’s work or training for this reason.
- Temporary regional lockdowns: Closure of some districts and provinces has affected businesses as goods were unable to be imported from outside Kigali.
- Increased costs: Many essential items such as food and sanitary items have been subject to drastic price increases. Also, the Comfort Babies budget has had to stretch to cover new costs such as face masks and sanitiser. School/nursery fees increased too and not all of the children in the project have been able to attend school/nursery.
- Project strategy: The Comfort Babies team has been working hard to modify project management and practice to take account of and address the lasting impact of Covid.
- Future plans: The team is working with the mums to help them plan for their futures and work towards self-sufficiency. Progress with this has been significantly delayed due to Covid but there is a determination and sense of purpose in the project about remaining focussed on this goal. Around 20 mums are expected to be supported through business training and graduate at the end of 2021.
“Thank you so much for your ongoing support for Comfort Babies. Together we are making the world a safer, happier place for many Rwandan families.” Becca, Comfort Babies Sponsor Admin Head
Fundraising
A massive thank you to sponsors Michael and Anne Yarney who did the Virtual Kiltwalk in April, they raised over £2000 for the project, helping to fund the mums’ Education and Enterprise activities and also the new purpose-built home in the Comfort Transformation Centre.
There is a great need for ongoing funding for the project. Since the start of Covid-19 an additional £3350 emergency funding has been sent out to top up the sponsorship funds to help cover the increased expenses. £500 has been sent for children’s nursery and school fees, as many of the Comfort Babies are not babies any more! The goal is, of course, for mums to become financially independent and be able to cover this cost themselves, but while the project works with them to regain ground lost due to Covid the programme would like to help provide for the children’s education.
The Comfort Babies team would be delighted if anyone would consider fundraising for the project. Please get in touch if you’d like ideas, t-shirts, publicity materials, etc – every pound donated for Comfort Babies goes straight to the project, having an immediate impact on the lives of the mums and babies.
One-off donations can be made at www.totalgiving.co.uk/appeal/CICB
Sponsorship
There is always a need for sponsorship of new mums and babies in need. If you would like to be part of this life-saving, life-changing project please click the sponsor button above and specify Comfort Babies.