At just 18 years old, Hawa has already experienced the journey of motherhood twice. She gave birth to her first child when she was only 16. “I delivered in the countryside, with my relatives helping me,” she recalls. In Hawa’s rural village, there was no clinic, only a few small pharmacies that sold basic drugs. There is “no large hospital like this one” back home, she explains, referring to Bay Regional Hospital in Baidoa. Without a proper health facility, Hawa’s first delivery was frightening and risky, but she and her baby girl survived.
Two years later, pregnant with her second child, Hawa knew the dangers all too well. When late pregnancy brought complications, swollen legs, a racing heartbeat, and persistent coughing, she made the decision to seek care at Bay Regional Hospital in Baidoa. Though it meant traveling to another city, she sought care at the MSF hospital in Baidoa. “I haven’t seen serious issues that made me come lately,” she first said humbly, but her symptoms told another story. Doctors at the hospital discovered Hawa was developing pre-eclampsia, a condition that could be fatal without treatment. They immediately provided the care she needed, helping her safely deliver a healthy baby boy.
Now recovering in the maternity ward, Hawa feels relief and determination. Seeing what a difference proper medical care makes, she’s become an advocate for women in her village. “We want a large hospital with doctors to be opened for us back home,” Hawa says firmly. She imagines a future where young women like her won’t have to travel or risk home births. Hawa’s courage in seeking help ensured her children have a healthy mother. Now she’s using that same courage to call for better healthcare for her entire community. “We just need a chance,” she says. “If a hospital is built for us, we will use it. We want our mothers and babies to live.”