April 27, 2016 ECEB in Vinh Linh

Part of a map to show you where we are in Vietnam.

Morning view from our room.  The condensation on the window is due to the extreme heat outside and the air conditioning in our room.

Some of the printed material brought with us.  By the end of the two weeks, we will have given all of this away to the students in our classes.  HBB is printed in Vietnamese.  ECEB is in English as there is not a Vietnamese translation available yet.  Luckily both books are heavy on pictures that illustrate the key teaching points.

Sunrise from our window.

 Breakfast in the hotel - really good food and I feel the need to try something different every day.  This array of food always makes it difficult to go home to a granola bar and yogurt for breakfast.

Today we taught Essential Care for Every Baby (ECEB) to 14 midwives and physicians - the same group that was with us yesterday.  Three of the 14 were trained as HBB Instructors in 2015 but none of the 14 had taken ECEB before.  The manikins that we use for both classes are called Neonatalie and are made to be filled with water so that, when handling them, it is similar to holding a real infant. So the day starts with filling the manikins - one of Warren's jobs.

Filled manikins ready for use.

Warren filling the manikins at a sink in the immunization room of the clinic.

An unfilled manikin on the clinic bed with Warren filling a manikin in the background.

We are teaching a a clinic in Vinh Linh - a large, three story building that is mostly administrative (for multiple patient care clinics throughout the area) but does have an immunization clinic.

The location of the clinic, north of Dong Ha.

 Pictures of the clinic and the area right around the clinic.  Rice fields are everywhere, not only around the clinic but all along our ride from Dong Ha to Vinh Linh.

Today we had a special visitor, Caroline, a representative from GlobalGiving.

From their website:

GlobalGiving is the first and largest global crowdfunding community for nonprofits.

Why give through GlobalGiving?

GlobalGiving enables you to fund the underdog. We make it possible to support creative ideas that might never be funded through traditional development and philanthropy approaches. But just because you're funding the underdog, it doesn't mean you're taking undue risk. We have a tested vetting process, and we make sure donors get feedback about how their contributions have been put to work and the results achieved - with satisfaction guaranteed through the GlobalGiving Guarantee.
The organizations that post projects on GlobalGiving go through a rigorous due diligence review, satisfy IRS guidelines for international grantmaking and tax deductibility, and meet US anti-terrorism requirements.

https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/help-babies-breathe-breath-gcsf-vietnam-myanmar-hbb/ is the link to Saving Babies in Southeast Asia , the GlobalGiving website used by GCSF to raise funds for this trip.

Caroline is visiting various GlobalGiving projects throughout Asia and spent the day with us.  It was great to get to know her and learn more about GlobalGiving and how they work with non-profit organizations throughout the world.

We started our day of teaching with a quick review of the Golden Minute taught in HBB.  Education should be fun and, as you can see from the pictures, our students have a good time while learning. Both HBB and ECEB are taught using either pairs or triads - 2 or 3 people working together playing the roles of the mother, birth attendant, and helper.  Students watch each other and learn from watching - and critique the performance of fellow students.  You will see a picture of Caroline holding one of the Neonatalie manikins.  Our students and our interpreters are constantly referring to the Provider guides and making notes.

The focus of ECEB is on the first 90 minutes of a baby's life.  One of the important factors is to keep the baby warm - not overheated but warm.  A baby who is having trouble maintaining a normal temperature, can be kept warm with skin to skin contact.  We practice wrapping the baby to the mother (or it could be the father or grandmother if the mother is sick) by using old sheets that have been cut down and sewn.  A huge thank you to Betsy's mother for making our wraps for us as well as for knitting baby hats to give to each of our students.  Again, our participants are having a great time wrapping the babies to each other and many pictures were taken, including selfies!

ECEB also includes education about the importance of newborn eye care, administration of Vitamin K (to prevent bleeding), and immunizations.  We talk about danger signs - signs that a newborn may be sick - and the importance of referral to a clinic or hospital.  And, of utmost importance, we talk about educating the parents as to what to look for in their new baby - of signs that their baby may be sick.  In many ways, this is one of the most important parts of ECEB - educating the parents.  If born in a clinic or hospital, most newborns are home within 1 to 2 days after birth.  It is the parents that will first notice if there is a problem.  Teaching the parents what to look for can be the first step in saving babies lives.

At the end of the morning, each participant received a certificate of completion of the ECEB course. This is an important part of every course - handing out the certificates, accompanied by applause.

We went out for another fabulous Vietnamese meal.  Such amazing food and so much of it!  We ate at the 1,2,3 Restaurant.  Two puppies greeted us as we got out of our van - so cute.  Tam really knows how to feed us and treat us well.

The afternoon was spent teaching an HBB and ECEB Instructor course.  We have 3 new HBB Facilitators and 6 new ECEB Facilitators.  Each new Facilitator/Instructor got to practice teaching several of the lessons.  Tomorrow all 6 HBB Facilitators will teach an HBB course with Betsy and I mentoring

.

One of our challenges is the flip charts.  We had them printed on regular paper, spiral bound, with a clear plastic cover.  Nice, however they do not stand up alone.  Clearly a heaver cover is in order the next time we do this.  So Warren used his engineering skills to make flip chart stands.  Recycled boxes.  Amazing.

The day ended with more certificates for our new Instructor Facilitators, as well as the group picture. It is very exciting to have these new Instructors to help make this course and the important information available to more birth attendants in Vietnam.

Six new ECEB Facilitators

Three new HBB Facilitators

And, finally, Tam having some fun.  It has been a great two days and we are looking forward to teaching a larger class tomorrow with the help of our new instructors.

After class the three of us (Warren, Betsy, and myself, Harriet) walked around Dong Ha a little and had tea at a little coffee shop.  Dong Ha is an important transport hub that sits at the intersection of Highways 1 and 9.  The town was completely flattened during the war (called the American War here).  Dong Ha, although not a main tourist town, is visited often by Vietnam veterans as it is a useful base for exploring the DMZ.   During the Vietnam War, Đông Hà was the northernmost town in South Vietnam and was the location of a strategically important USMC Đông Hà  Combat Base, to support Marine positions along the DMZ.  Đông Hà was overrun on March 31, 1972, during the initial assaults of the North Vietnamese Easter Offensive.  As we walked around town today, everyone is friendly, saying 'hello' and waving.  English does not seem to be spoken as much here as in the larger tourist towns.  Motorbikes are everywhere and crossing the street is a challenge - you just keep walking - don't stop or you will get hit!  Sort of like sailing when we yell "hold your course"!