MATERNITY CLINIC

After Friends of the Congo was founded in April of 2018, it was decided that a maternity clinic would be built in the town of Yassa. Father Jean spent much of his childhood in this town and he explained that there was a substantial need for proper maternal medical care.

In November of 2018, a multi-step plan pictured on the right was proposed and a GoFundMe page was established for the Maternity Clinic. Overwhelming support for the initiative was met with substantial donations and construction began shortly after.

Right: Construction of Maternity Clinic January 2019.

Left: Finished Maternity Clinic July 2019

In July 2019, the Maternity Clinic was complete and dedicated. This building was equipped with medical beds, delivery tables, a toilet, bathtub, and sink to prepare for eventual running water. Solar panels on the clinic provided electric lighting for the building--the first electric lights in Yassa ever.

In September 2019, a campaign to raise funds for a well was initiated. The well is needed to support the Maternity clinic as well as provide clean drinking water to the surrounding community. Proposals from two different well drilling contractors determined that a well depth of 200 meters would be required.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic created a major obstacle to fundraising efforts. However, sufficient funds for the well were collected by October 2020. Well drilling was halted at a depth of 173 meters due to a failure of the drilling equipment. We are awaiting the procurement of new equipment for completion of this final phase of the Maternity Clinic construction.