Mother's Day Message~

"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward."  Psalm 127:3

Guest Author: Suzy Kuj, IDAT Ministries Director
       Sitting under the grass banda to escape the horrendous heat in rural Tonj, South Sudan, I realized Mother's Day was here and I needed to appreciate my mum living now in Florida. More and more each year, I treasure my mum, who raised four children.  And each year, while working in South Sudan, my appreciation and wonderment is also for mothers worldwide and especially those here in Sudan.

      Our soon-to-be-independent nation holds one of the worst maternal mortality ratios in the world at 2,054 deaths per 100,000 live births. That means that 1 out of every 48 babies who are born alive loses their mother at birth. In the United States that statistic is 8 deaths/100,000, or 1 out of every 12,500. That the average woman in South Sudan experiences 7 pregnancies in her life makes this reality even more dire, statistically, 1 of every 7.5 women will die due to pregnancy or delivery complications. Take a moment to think of 8 women you know. If you lived in South Sudan, chances are one of them would die from hemorrhage, sepsis, or obstructed labor.

      It's a grim reality. So why tout these dismal maternal health statistics on Mother's Day? Because even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, there is progress, offering hope for South Sudan's future.

      Warrap County has only 10% of births attended by a skilled attendant.  Our clinic has a full-time African nurse midwife and a missionary midwife from USA even though we seriously lack available medical personnel.  Most health facilities in South Sudan are run by community health workers who have only nine months of training and few clinical skills to handle complicated cases, we have an American volunteer doctor and Kenyan Clinical Officer.  We are blessed more than others and have much to be thankful for.  Every day our clinic saves the lives of these precious women.  Our clinic also has JESUS!  And HE brings the greatest hope of all. 

Suzy with her children on Mother's Day.

     If you are a Mum, our Mother's Day gift to you this year is letting you know we commit to reduce the number of mothers who die during child birth, through using our trained staff and trusting in the Lord Jesus for hope.  We will work and pray so other children will have a chance to treasure their mums a little more deeply each passing year. We promise to bring the hope of Jesus Christ to each mummy and celebrate her choice to come to our clinic and allow us to help her.

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mum's reading this.