Madhoo Rao, junior applied mathematics major, took a month out of her summer vacation to study abroad in Africa. Unlike most of her fellow collegiettes, her time abroad was not all that glamorous – nor did she spend time learning a romance language while in a traditional classroom. Her classroom was Tanzania, and her experience was more valuable than any lecture hall could provide.
Dr. Marla Jaksch, women’s and gender studies professor, alongside her husband Warcheerah Kilima, a native-born Tanzania, took ten TCNJ students on the trip. The purpose was to learn about the politics of women’s culture and maternal health in Tanzania. “Learning about these issues in a classroom wouldn’t have been the same – the hands on experience we got was incomparable,” says Rao.
Students closely worked on providing maternal care and resources for women in labor.
“Most women in Tanzania live in areas where there aren’t enough facilities or clinics to deliver their babies, and as a result, they end up using midwives, or giving birth at home,” says Rao. “These women feel that since their mothers before them used these methods to give birth, that they must be safe. They don’t realize how dangerous it can be.”
The daunting task of childbirth is something that crosses the mind of almost every female in the free world. Of course it scares almost everyone, but for most Americans, there really isn’t much that we have to worry about compared to women of other cultures. We have access to hospitals, prenatal care, and well-trained medical professionals. But for women in the developing world, getting to a hospital is the last thing on their minds when going into labor. Some hospitals do not even have the resources, such as electricity, to assist a woman in labor.
Rao’s class partnered with WE CARE Solar, which raises money to provide solar energy to women in developing countries for the purpose of advanced resources and better healthcare from midwives and physicians during labor. Rao’s class was the first trained group to partner with WE CARE as student ambassadors.
“We worked a lot with various women’s organizations on a day-to-day basis to see what we could do to help these women in Tanzania,” says Rao. “Most organizations worked to raise awareness for maternal health and female genital mutilation prevention. Their goals are to educate the Tanzanian women about how they should be caring for themselves, especially when delivering babies.”
While Rao’s trip was service-based, she did find some time for adventure! She admits that her favorite part of the trip was waking up to the sunrise over Mount Kilimanjaro. Seeing giraffes roaming around in person was a favorite as well. She also enjoyed camping and living with the Maasai, the indigenous people of Tanzania. She was even able to learn some of the Maasai language, known as “Kima,” as well as some Swahili. Talk about a rewarding trip!
Here, Rao demonstrates how to use one of the WE CARE solar battery systems to a medical technician in a clinic in Pemba.