THE BACKDROP
The first 28 days after the birth of a preterm baby is critical for their survival. Preterm babies are those born too early, i.e., before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Most of these babies are underweight. The babies experience a condition known as Hypothermia - the child’s body temperature drops dangerously low which may lead to infection or death. The mortality rates of these babies are high in low-income homes as the parents are not aware of treatment techniques.
Doctors advise the mother/ caregiver to adopt the Kangaroo Mother Care technique which involves early and prolonged skin-to-skin contact with the mother/ caregiver. Like Kangaroos, a mother uses one’s own body temperature to keep the baby warm and stabilize the baby’s body temperature.
However, holding a small baby against your naked body for 8–24 hours per day can be difficult. Due to this limitation, a lot of parents find it difficult to give KMC to their infants.
THE SOLUTION
Ekam Foundation, an NGO based in Chennai aims to solve this problem through a unique Kangaroo Mother Care Sling bag stitched by Ekam’s self-help women's group. The sling bag keeps the baby securely in the correct position for providing effective skin-to-skin care. The ergonomic design puts little strain on the shoulders, and back and thus ensures a prolonged duration of KMC. The bag also allows for breastfeeding with ease without removing the newborn from the sling.
This technique will help 40% of preterm babies survive (according to WHO and the National Library of Medicine).
PIC: A mother using Kangaroo Mother Care Sling bag.
Two such KMC bags are given for each baby. The NGO also takes care of the counselling, training, and monitoring of the beneficiaries. The funds from this campaign will be used to distribute these sling bags in government hospital ICUs across Tamil Nadu.
All funding has 80G tax benefits.
KANGAROO MOTHER CARE SLING BAG
ABOUT ME
My name is Harshita.M. I am 13-years-old and a Grade 8th student at The Pupil Saveetha Eco School, Chennai.
I was shocked to learn that for preterm babies the first 28 days are very crucial for their survival. If not properly cared for, these babies will not survive. The Kangaroo Mother Care technique is critical for the survival of these babies. The KMC sling bag is unique and it makes it easy for the parent/ caretaker to provide effective skin-to-skin care.
The cost of counselling, training the parents, monitoring, and giving them two KMC bags is just INR 2500. This will help save a life.
The funds from this campaign will be used to distribute these sling bags in Government Hospital ICU's across Tamil Nadu.
Support this campaign and let us together save lives.
KMC BAG IN USE
The KMC technique can be adopted not just by the mother but also by the father, grandmother, etc.
MAP
ABOUT EKAM FOUNDATION
EKAM foundation is a not-for-profit (NGO) organization that works towards providing quality healthcare to needy children and mothers in India. The foundation was started on the basic premise that no child should be denied the right to healthcare. EKAM’s vision is to work for the well-being of children and mothers; and thereby contribute to a reduction in infant, childhood, adolescent, and maternal mortality rates. EKAM is a unique healthcare model, primarily focusing on neonates and infants.
The primary aim is not to replace but to seamlessly supplement the Public health care system. As a child’s health is dependent on the health of its mother, interventions are tailored to address the challenges and gaps within the RMNCHA arena (Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn Child, and Adolescent Health).
PREVIOUS DISTRIBUTION OF THE KMC BAGS
TAX BENEFITS
Funding for this campaign is eligible for tax breaks as the NGO, Ekam Foundation is a registered trust and you can avail of benefits under section 80G of the IT act. Foreign funding is NOT accepted.
FAQs
Will we get to know the details of who benefitted?
Yes. After the money has been collected it will be transferred by Fueladream to Ekam Foundation. It will take from 2 to 3 months after that to get details of fund use. Once I get this information from them I shall upload this in the UPDATES section of this campaign. You will then get an alert and can read details about the beneficiaries.
When do I get the receipts?
It takes up to 2-weeks after the campaign is closed for the monies to be transferred to Ekam Foundation. The receipts will start getting processed about 4 to 6 weeks AFTER the campaign is closed and will be sent to you directly.
How can we fund this campaign with a Cheque?
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After the funds are received and the above details are verified, the fund amount will be transferred to the respective campaign. This can take from 1-3 working days.
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