Charities focussing on maternity and newborn healthcare in Africa - Suggestions Please

[hub2dee]

Could anyone make suggestions as to charities which focus specifically on improving maternity care and reducing neonatal mortality associated with childbirth in Africa ? More general healthcare charities which allow directed giving - ie you dictate what area of healthcare your donation goes to etc. would also be of interest.

I think there have been a few related threads before, but I cannot find them. I am most interested in charities active in South Africa, but this is not a requirement.

Ideally these organisations would have no religious affiliation, and would devote a very high percentage of funds raised to the cause rather than to admin overheads and fundraising. The charities do not need to be at all well-known to be of interest to me.

I am still umming and ahhing about my child photography business, but if I launch it (and it looks like I will) I would hope to be able to donate a percentage of profit, or a fixed amount from newborn shoots, to a worthwhile cause.

Thanks for any input.

Not sure if this is what you're looking for but thought I would share.

I think it's a charity - they produced a recipe book which is how I know about them. MUMs(Malawi Underprivileged Mums) The funds from the book went to help mothers and babies in Bottom Hospital, Malawi.

I'm pretty sure (could be wrong) that this is the hospital that Mears visited last year so she might have more info.

HTH

I am very involved in a south African charity called the Starfish Foundation - they are a small group with maximum donations going to the charity and very few overhead costs (I got involved because, Like you, I wanted my donations to count and not pay for office tea and coffee!!)
They support children who have been orphaned by HIV (70% of whom are not infected) and help women in the community to help these children. I know it's not exactly what you are looking for, but have a look at the website.

starfish

Grace Kodindo's work in Chad

Hello hub2dee. I am very interested in working as a portrait photographer. Would love to have a chat with you sometime, hear about courses you might recommend, etc.

Sorry I don't know any relevant charities, but what a fantastic idea.

Thanks asur - now you've reminded me I remember reading about Mears' colleague / friend. I spent ages reading the blog too. It was very inspirational. Thank you. I will drop Mears a line !

Cool - I am just trying to fathom out the annual report - to figure out % spent on fundraising vs. % donated etc. etc. (I am so crap at this lol). They sound v. interesting, thanks for posting about them. If you want to share about your involvement, or more about what they do or how they work or what is interesting / special about them, do shout !

Thanks Marina, will have a read. Sounds relevant.

Hi Marl - just CAT me anytime. I've only done one 'course' if you'd like to call it that ! An all-day lecture from an Aussie wedding tog. Was interesting (just about business mostly, not so much about tech, touched on 'the art' a little). I am self-taught through years of clicking ! Have fun at this forum here. The other charity direction I am looking at is one working on visual health / optometry / eye testing / distribution of specs etc. I see a good tie-in with these causes and with the art of photography and the client base of newborns / kids.

Thanks hub2dee. You've made my day with that site!

I can't vouch for any individual charities in particular but you might want to think about those that work on fistula. eg here or (Un agency rather than a charity) here or Marie Stopes which is one of the leading international organisations working on reproductive health

papillonfoundation Johannesburg

General info on SA Carities

Great Hub2Dee, SA needs our help.

Soweto Connection supports a bunch of Aids-related groups in South Africa, facilitates donations targeted at childcare and women's health, and has admin/overhead running at less than 1% of donations

Thanks for these last several links everyone. Inspirational.