Roding Rotary Club

By Jeremy Jessel, AG North East Area (from ROTARY IN LONDON - November 2008)

"Every day 26,000 children under the age of five die from preventable causes. Let's Make Dreams Real by giving these children the chance to grow up and have dreams of their own." (Dong Kurn Lee, President Rotary International 2008-2009)

AT PETS earlier in the year I suggested to the presidents elect of the seven Rotary Clubs in the newly-created North East Area that we might combine forces for an Area project. As a result, the Rotary Clubs of Barking, Chigwell, Dagenham, Epping, Leytonstone & Woodford, Loughton & Buckhurst Hill and Roding are working together to provide support for unborn babies and their mothers in a campaign called 'Making Tiny Dreams Real'. The connection between Roding Club's President Bob Bishop and Professor John Wyatt at University College Hospital was the catalyst for this project.

Each year almost a million babies die in the first month of life due to complications of childbirth and more than a million die during labour and delivery. These deaths are closely linked to the half a million mothers who die from childbirth complications. Over 99% of all newborn and maternal deaths occur in the developing world. Important causes include the lack of skilled personnel, essential technology and medicines. More skilled caregivers, especially for safe childbirth, are an urgent need.

However, what is often overlooked is the need for innovative approaches to providing basic technology for healthcare. Many communities, often lacking a reliable electricity supply, cannot use conventional medical equipment to monitor the progress of babies in the womb. As a result, problems may not be identified early enough and babies die unnecessarily.

A Wind-up Foetal Heart Monitor has been developed with the co-operation of Freeplay Energy, developer of the original wind-up radio with its inventor Trevor Baylis and Powerfree Education & Technology (PET) a not-for-profit company registered in South Africa. The founders of PET are Professor John Wyatt, who is a neonatalogist at UCH, London, Dr. Joy Lawn, a paediatrician and perinatal epidemiologist working with Save the Children in South Africa and Professor Dave Woods, retired head of neonatology at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town.

'Making Tiny Dreams Real' will provide wind-up foetal heart monitors to enable PET to carry out a one year trial in South Africa, before the project is expanded to other developing countries. The seven London Rotary Clubs are raising money for the first batch of these monitors for the trial.

The scheme was launched on September 1st at a reception in Forest School, Snaresbrook. Representatives of the seven clubs were fascinated by Professor Wyatt's presentation and the Rotary Club of Dagenham's President John Davis handed Professor Wyatt a cheque for £1500, drawn from the President's fund of his predecessor Ron Curtis, a magnificent sum which really got the project off the ground.

How You Can Help
Gift Aided donations can be made online at http://tinyurl.com/making-tiny-dreams-real