Just another example of how Infante Sano is getting noticed for its programming excellence!

My “Back to Basics” Approach to the Holidays

by Cindy Beams, Infante Sano Diplomat

Although nobody welcomes the financial straits we’re all in, I’ve decided to mark the occasion with a “back to basics” approach to the holidays.  The pressure – real or imagined – to fill the holidays with too much stuff is one I’ve never been able to resist.  However, this year actually is going to be different! With the full support of my dwindling bank account, I’ve painted a new face on the holidays -  the face of Infante Sano.   It’s the face of no stuff and an Infante Sano donation. Much to my surprise, my children, who have been making detailed holiday wish-lists for thirty years, are in full support.  At some level, our return to the basics has made us more grateful than ever for our many blessings.

Why did I get involved with Infante Sano?

Having sold my business, I suddenly had the freedom to be on the lookout for an organization that captured both my imagination and my heart.  I was open to all sorts of possibilities, and loved having the latitude of an open-ended search -  open-ended until I met Kim Wilson and Bill Haney, founders of Infante Sano.  Almost immediately I knew that I wanted to get involved in this fledgling organization.  Let me tell you why:

• Because Infante Sano is in its early stages, there’s lots flexibility and opportunity for involvement. I’ve identified interests and talents I never knew I had, and been able to contribute in multiple ways.  It’s been a delightful process of mutual discovery.
• As the mother of two adult daughters, the experience of their gestation, birth and infancy are the most memorable moments of my own life.
• Thinking about what matters at the end of the day, I believe the bonds between parents and children are what really matter.  Being able to contribute to the unfolding of these bonds is the joy of working with Infante Sano.
• Working with people from other cultures – especially around maternal-newborn issues in the developing world – is a constant reminder that we are share much more in terms of our similarities than our differences.  This reminder of our common humanity has been an ongoing gift of my involvement with Infante Sano.

Traveling to the Dominican Republic with members of the Infante Sano team has only strengthened my desire to stay involved.  There’s simply no substitute for on-the-ground experience.  The taste, touch, sound and smell of the Dominican Republic is compelling, and images of the women and children Infante Sano serves populate my mind as well as my heart.

This holiday season, I’m making a commitment to Infante Sano’s Sponsor a Birth Program and I encourage you to do the same.

http://www.sponsorabirth.org/

I hope this if the first of many blogs. I am going to make it a habit to keep you abreast to the new and exciting developments at Infante Sano.

I was in the Dominican Republic during the first two weeks of October, and we made some exciting progress that I wanted to share with you. We had the opportunity to present our project to INSALUD (a consortium of non-profit organizations in the Dominican Republic), and the Medical Advisor to President Fernandez. We presented our experience thus far in the country, and our use of the BABIES matrix (a CDC / CARE International tool). It was a smashing success and we had the below articles written about the meeting in the Dominican press. We hope to continue discussing the possibilities of working at a National level.

http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias_det.php?id=174342

http://www.elcaribecdn.com.do/articulo_caribe.aspx?id=189430&guid=20F940FB28D04D48B0B252CB7206F128&Seccion=150

Like I mentioned before I hope to post on a regular basis to keep you informed about what we are doing and our efforts to improve the lives of mothers and newborns.

Thank you!

“When someone walks up to you with a healthy baby and tells you that the baby would not be alive without the hospital you helped equip —it doesn’t get much better than that.” (for the entire article please click here)

Below: Bill with Infante Sano staff, Bottom: Bill with a healthy Dominican baby

El miercoles 25 del mes de junio realizamos en el comité de salud una charla sobre el uso y manejo de la basura. Y en forma practica este lunes 7 de julio realizamos una limpieza a la clinica y sus alrededores, contando con el apoyo de la de la comunidad y el comité de salud.

Alejandra Mateo

Alejandra tenia a su hijo muy enfermo de salud, casi al borde de la muerte. Una amiga le dijo que fuera donde la Dra. Elisa Tejeda quien trabaja en la comunidad de La SAONA para Infante Sano.
Al ver el niño en el estado que estaba actuó rápidamente y le dio los cuidados necesarios para que el niño este en buenas condiciones, como lo esta ahora.

Alejandra sigue viviendo en La Saona, Baní, Republica Dominicana con su hijo Yasmil, su niña y su esposo.

Escrito por: Jairo Peña

Last month, a group of kids from Groton School in Massachusetts turned thousands of yards of donated fleece into baby blankets to give to new and expecting mothers in the Dominican Republic. We delivered the blankets last week and the mothers were thrilled! One mother told us she felt very special that kids in the United States cared enough to make something for her baby. Thank you, again, to all the great folks at Groton for executing such a valuable project!  Thanks to Tara and Patagonia for the great fleece!

Take care,

christa