Hilal Afrika rescues pregnant women

Hilal Afrika has rehabilitated Mikoko Bridge in group village head Nyenje in Traditional Authority Kawinga in Machinga District to ease mobility of pregnant women to Ntaja Health Centre.

The bridge, which was damaged by Cyclone Freddy in March this year, is about 20 kilometres from the health facility and connects communities from Ngokwe, Chikwewo and Mpili.

Speaking on Wednesday when the Germany-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) commissioned the bridge, Sifati Lanjesi from Maulidi Village, said pregnant women struggled to reach the health centre during the rainy season.

“The situation was worse for expectant mothers because we were using other roads to go to hospital,” she said.

Her counterpart Fatima Fonesi from Nyenje Village said there were times pregnant women used to miss antenatal services.

“It is against medical recommendations for pregnant women to miss antenatal services. The same applies to mothers who are required to take their children for under-five clinic services,” she said.

Village head Maulidi expressed happiness with the reconstruction of the bridge, saying it will ease mobility of people from the area to other places.

“Apart from helping pregnant women access health services at Ntaja Health Centre, the bridge will also enable farmers to transport their produce to markets,” he said.

Hilal Afrika chairperson Umut Turan said they reconstructed the bridge in memory of the late Ilyas Numan Eren Emin Yuksel and Meryem Yuksel, who were passionate in charitable activities.

He said it remains his organisation’s commitment to transform the lives of people by giving them sustainable projects in areas of health, education and agriculture.

Hilal Afrika rehabilitated the bridge with financial support from Ramazan Eren, a Germany-based well-wisher.