Empower 15 women as leaders, Improve health of 600

On August 2, 2023 we inaugurated our 10^th cohort of Community Health Leaders (CHLs), and we couldn’t be more excited for the 8 women who have been dedicated to learning about preventative health topics for the past 4 months.

In past cohorts Project Hearts has proudly graduated teenagers as CHLs, but this year we have our youngest attendee by far. Of course, they haven’t even been born yet, so their participation isn’t exactly voluntary, but they will most certainly benefit from the health knowledge being imparted to their mom, Davianny.

Davianny, 19 years old, lives in the community of Los Ciruelos in Baitoa and is currently 8 months pregnant with her second child. When I asked Davianny if she has learned anything from the course that will help her as a mother, she enthusiastically affirmed, despite already having 4 years’ experience as a parent.

Last week I taught the group about sexually transmitted infections, and as an expecting mom Davianny was especially surprised to learn that some STIs can be passed from mother to child during birth. And, like most parents in Baitoa, Davianny had no idea that breastfeeding is so vital to an infant’s health, growth, and development, and that in addition to powered formula being much more expensive, it is also much less nutritional.

I love introducing women to new information, and seeing how the knowledge gives them power and self-confidence. Davianny is going to be an amazing leader and role model for her community, and I hope her children will grow to follow her example. Perhaps they’ll even get to enroll in our training some day! Since Davianny’s mom, Denisse, graduated as a CHL in 2022, they would be third-generation Community Health Leaders. I know I would be honored and blessed to still be teaching at Project Hearts in 15 years!

I’m continuously grateful to you for helping us to empower women of all ages here in Baitoa, and I look forward to continuing this good work for as many years as possible.

In gratitude,

-Juana “Niña”

Links:

• Project Hearts DR Facebook

We are in the process of recruiting the next cohort of Community Health Leaders, and we are quite excited that two of the women already on the roster are the daughters of 2022 graduates.

Denisse and Johemi both graduated as CHLs last year, and their experience in the course was so powerful that they want their daughters to receive the same education and empowerment.

Dabianny - Denisse’s daughter - and Yasmin - Johemi’s daughter - were two of the first women to enroll to be part of the next group we train as leaders. They recognized the impact the class made on their mothers, and hope to undergo similar transformations.

Both are young women, 19 and 20, so learning these important health topics early in life, in addition to being encouraged as leaders, will give them the opportunity to prevent many of the physical and emotional health problems that plague Baitoa. Dabianny also happens to be pregnant, so our lessons on prenatal and maternal health will be especially relevant for her, and will hopefully give her baby a strong foundation for a healthy life.

We are so thankful to you all for helping us continue to exchange the cycle of poverty for a cycle of empowerment for so many families in Baitoa. We hope to see the impact of the CHL course for generations to come!