In Gear | Rotary in Southern New Zealand In Gear - Issue 3 | Page 67

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Rotary lifesavers
returning to Mongolia
Planning is well underway for a Rotary
District 9980-backed Vocational Training
Team (VTT) to return to Mongolia for
a third, and final, journey to deliver
pioneering – and life-saving – childbirth
education.
Mongolian Maternal Health Project VTT leader Gary
Dennison, of the Rotary Club of Waimate, says the
same team of midwives who travelled with him to
Mongolia last year is set to go back next May.
The Rotary Club of Timaru’s Julie Dockrill, Rotary
Club of Gisborne (Australia) 2016-17 president Sam
Turner, Bev Te Huia, of Hastings, and Melbourne’s Jo
Palmer plan to provide a final phase of childbirth and
emergency clinical skills education. It’s designed to
build on the team’s previous training that’s credited
with having already saved ten s of thousands of
mothers’ and babies’ lives since the programme’s
inception four years ago.
The Rotary Vocational Training Team identified the
need for further education in emergency obstetrics
and clinical skills – particularly resuscitation – during
last May’s trip, which was the project’s third phase,
Gary says.
Funding applications are in the pipeline to secure
the estimated $85,000 needed for phase four, which
includes developing a new Maternal Health Emergency
Clinical Skills Training Manual, as well covering the
team’s travel to provide Mongolian healthcare workers
the associated “Train the Trainer” course.
“Our programme is aimed at educating health
professionals to plan, implement and provide
professional emergency skills care to pregnant and
birthing women, and their babies, in a structured, safe
and culturally-aware environment.
“All of the content is evidence-based, well-researched
information from international peak bodies.”
In response to specific requests, Gary says the team
will include
reading patient
monitoring
Infant mortality rates
charts, training
dropped 66 percent, while
in epidural
maternal deaths plummeted
use, managing
and controlling
more than 70 percent ...
infection,
and the
importance of handwashing. Several infant
resuscitation manikins have recently been donated
from an Australian distributor.
“The midwives will also be sharing their knowledge and
experiences of the considerable benefits of skin-to-skin
contact for mums and new babies.”
The first Rotary VTT visited Mongolia to launch the
childbirth education initiative in 2013 – just four
If you missed the story about the Vocational
Training Team’s trip to Mongolia last year,
check out the August edition of In Gear.
From left, the Mongolian Vocational Training Team in traditional dress: Jo Palmer, Sam Turner, Gary Dennison, Julie Dockrill and Bev Te Huia.