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- Home / Introduction
- 1. Emancipating Twenty-First Century Slaves
- 2. Prohibition and Prostitution
- 3. Learning to Speak Up
- 4. Rule by Rape
- 5. The Shame of “Honor”
- 6. Maternal Mortality: One Woman a Minute
- 7. Why Do Women Die in Childbirth?
- 8. Family Planning and the "God Gulf"
- 9. Is Islam Misogynistic?
- 10. Investing in Education
- 11. Microcredit: The Financial Revolution
- 12. The Axis of Equality
- 13. Grassroots vs. Treetops
- 14. What You Can Do
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“For me, it’s more about helping to plant the seeds so that the roots, and eventually flowers, can grow.”
—Mieko McKay, Senior Program Associate, EngenderHealth
The driving force behind any successful initiative is the community and its advocates, who have the most knowledge of local health needs. Indeed, the power of community mobilization is infinite. One example is in rural Guinea, where EngenderHealth has seen volunteers from all walks of life coming together to form Safe Motherhood Village Committees. These groups make sure that women get antenatal care and emergency treatment during labor, raise awareness of maternal health, and guide women suffering from fistula to treatment facilities.
Our View from the Ground
Mieko McKay, a key liaison with the village committees in Guinea, reflects on her early experiences and how she learned long ago the difference that grassroots movements can make.
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Story from the Front Lines
Learn how Safe Motherhood Village Committees in rural Guinea are taking charge and mobilizing for better health.
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What You Can Do
Host a bake sale or other fundraiser in your community, school, or workplace—or even just on Facebook Causes—that will go toward a cause that you care about, like EngenderHealth.
In rural Kenya, with leadership training a woman named Esther became an ardent advocate for women’s health and mobilized her community to build a hospital, repair the road, and build a bridge—infrastructure essential to ensure women’s access to lifesaving maternal and reproductive health care. Impressed by these community efforts, the government of Kenya is looking into expanding this model in other parts of the country.