Ajana's Story

Ajana is 18 years old and lives with her husband in a small, remote village in Southwest Ethiopia. She is nine months pregnant and-like many in her village-plans to give birth to her child at home, without a midwife. During her pregnancy, she did not go to the health centre for any prenatal examination, because it is very difficult to get to the centre during the rainy season.

A Difficult Night
It is midnight when Ajana starts feeling the contractions. They continue for hours, but no matter how hard she presses, the birth process does not move forward. She is completely exhausted and whimpers quietly from the pain. The young woman is afraid for her child.

A Ride in the Ambulance
Ajana's husband is just as worried about his wife as for the child in her womb. Fortunately, he has heard about the new maternity ambulance that was made possible by Women’s
Hope International. He notifies the driver and the vehicle can come close to the village. Due to the flooded roads, some of the villagers must carry Ajana on a stretcher to the ambulance. The driver transports the young woman as quickly as possible to the St. Luke Catholic Hospital in Wolisso.

Saved at the Last Minute
At the hospital, they are met by the waiting midwife, who recently attended a training course for emergency situations. The midwife acts quickly and professionally, and together with other staff members, she initiates childbirth. Ajana is soon smiling and holding a little girl in her arms. She is aware that without the ambulance and the emergency treatment at the hospital, she and her child might not have survived. Thankful and happy, the two young parents make their way home with their newborn daughter several days later.