The challenge
In the Transmara village where this project runs, about 20 babies are born each year. Most mothers gave birth at home without professional support, because the clinic visit and the journey there cost too much.
What GIFT did
The project began as a pilot in 2020. It was run with a Northern Ireland family who had supported GIFT for many years and funded it through sales of Little Love blankets. A GIFT associate runs it locally with the village Ladies Group, supported by a representative in Nairobi.
The package for each mother has included:
- transport to the clinic for the birth
- baby requisites and a blanket
- first-year vaccinations
- a mosquito net for every baby
- emergency medical care for infants
In November 2023 more than 70 people walked to a community gathering about the project: mothers, babies, grandmothers, fathers and elders. “Without exception” the mothers welcomed the clinic. After that meeting the package changed so that mothers also receive cash to buy nutritious food after the birth. GIFT also agreed to fund a modern delivery couch for the refurbished clinic, and in October 2024 supporters saw it installed.
What changed
At the October 2024 consultation the community voted to fund maternity care themselves through a cattle project. Fifteen steers were bought in December 2024 and sold at the end of 2025. The sale paid for a year of births and bought a new herd. The project is now in community hands, and none of the income comes back to GIFT.
This is how GIFT aims to work: support a community-led idea until it can stand on its own.
