The Project
The purpose of Beth's Birthing Center is to share the love of Christ by helping to improve birthing conditions and health care for the women and babies of Mwimutoni, Kenya.
Currently the village of Mwimutoni has little to no medical care for women giving birth. Pregnant women must hike up a mountain during labor to reach a health clinic that does not even have running water. Some women hope to catch a bus at the clinic and make it to a hospital before their baby is born. Many women end up delivering on the hike.
This project first originated as the vision of three women whose children Beth delivered. Linked by their love for Beth, Shelli Kratzer, Sarah Beth Baldwin, and Sarah Bellew dreamed of establishing this project as a way to help Beth realize one of her dreams: that women everywhere would have a safe and clean place to experience the joy of the birth of their children. Now formally administered through Kihiu International Ministries,the Beth's Birthing Center Project exists to honor Beth’s life and her dream.
The project is currently in the assessment phase. Project organizers plan to make a trip to the village in the summer of 2006 to better understand the women’s needs and to ascertain what resources are currently available. The goal is for a sustainable, locally administered development project that will improve women’s health care for all of Mwimutoni.