In Gear | Rotary in Southern New Zealand Issue 1 | Page 10
included a three-day childbirth education course and
a one-day emergency skills clinic. Along the way, the
VTT realised the project was gaining quite a reputation.
“We were a bit blown away by the number of doctors,
obstetricians – quite senior doctors – who were at the
classes, saying they needed an update,” Gary says.
MONGOLIAN VOCATIONAL TRAINING TEAM
“And the manual, well that blew them away as well.”
The positive spinoffs from the latest VTT visit were
almost immediate. The chief maternity lecturer at
Ulaanbaatar University underwent the training in the
first week the team arrived in Mongolia. That weekend
she was already out sharing her new-found knowledge
and skills at a session with 500 students. Instant
sustainability, says Gary.
“She was smiling all the way through the course – she
said: this is exactly what we need.
Two cultures collide - a little touch of New Zealand amidst
maternal health information translated in to Mongolian.
participatory, experiential learning experience. The
people in Mongolia weren’t at all used to that – they’re
used to being ‘talked at’ in training.
“The front row of glum faces at the start said it all. They
“That was a graphic display of how far the project’s
actually have an impish sense of humour, so they loved
impact is spreading, and how quickly. It’s like finger-like
the team’s style. There was a lot of fun and laughter.
tendrils that are going
“At
the
end,
the
out in all directions,
comments
were
all
and you can’t even
... you leave knowing you’ve made
along
the
lines
of:
guess as to the total
a difference and left a legacy, and what you have done
effect it’s having ... it’s
for our country, our
that’s what we join Rotary for.”
the snowball effect
health
system,
is
in action before your
Gary
Dennison,
mindboggling.
eyes.”
With the help of
the project’s influence, the country’s Ministry of
Health has made childbirth education compulsory
for all Mongolia’s expectant mothers, who must
attend a minimum of three classes to qualify for the
new Government welfare child support payments
programme.
Anecdotally, the feedback the VTT’s received from
their Mongolian colleagues, Gary says, has been
consistently powerful.
And, it’s not just what’s being taught, but how it’s being
conveyed.
“The
team
delivers
very
much
the
interactive,
Rotary Club of Waimate
“That gave us warm
fuzzies – when you leave, you leave knowing you’ve
made a difference and left a legacy, and that’s what
we join Rotary for.”
Statistically, the data shows, since its inception, the
Mongolian Maternal Health Project has made a lifesaving difference. Between 2013 and 2015, infant
mortality rates dropped 66 percent, while maternal
deaths dived more than 70 percent .
In what’s likely to be the “full-stop” to the project, the
team is planning a final trip to Mongolia in 2018 to
build on the emergency obstetrics and clinical skills
training delivered this year, with an emphasis on
resuscitation – and saving more lives.
HELP US HELP MONGOLIA
We can do more to build on Rotary’s great work in Mongolia – but
we need your club’s help.
Much like polio was many years ago, hepatitis remains a problem
throughout the country, a problem that can be solved with a
simple inoculation.
If your club is willing to donate to help tackle hepatitis in
Mongolia, please contact Gary Dennison, of the Rotary Club of
Waimate – email: [email protected].
Page 10 | In Gear - Rotary in Southern New Zealand - District 9980 | www.rotarydistrict9980.org