Tumaini Sinyati

Sinyati was excited to have her first baby. Although she was from a remote village, she was young and in good health. She was anxious to see if she would have a boy or a girl. She followed all the Massai customs like limiting her food intake in the last months because having a big baby in the village is dangerous. When she started bleeding during delivery her husband decided to get her to Arusha as fast as he could to save her life. The doctor performed an emergency cescerian but Sinyate had lost too much blood and passed away during the surgery. She would never know her beautiful daughter Tumaini. Tonight Sinyati’s sister came with Tumaini to get her settled at Neema. I could feel her great sadness and through her tears she told me about her young sister and how much she wanted to be a mother. Although we are happy to love Tumaini while she is with us, our hearts break for this young mother. Maternal death in the Maasai culture is estimated to be 1 in 9. Through our Save The Mothers safe birthing training, we at Neema Village are working to bring safe birthing practices to the remote villages like Sinyates.