Full Grant Awarded | Mercy In Action [Philippines]

We would like to thank you for your inspiring generosity and support. We have some exciting news we would like to share with you

One Day’s Wages is pleased to announce a $10,000 grant to Mercy In Action, a non-profit organization working for maternal and neonatal health in the Philippines. Mercy In Action has been providing midwifery and maternal health services since 1991. This grant will go towards the construction of Maternity Waiting Homes, shelters for women who must travel to birthing centers in order to deliver in the presence of a skilled birth attendant.

Who is Mercy In Action?

Mercy in Action’s vision is to ensure that all women have access to high quality maternal health services, this is done by removing the pay-barriers that stand in the way of quality care. To date more than 12,000 babies have been delivered free of charge for those living in extreme poverty in their birth centers. Furthermore, their centers have a neonatal survival rate that is 4 times higher than the surrounding region.

Mercy In Action’s Focus

Of the tribal households in the region, 82% of the women deliver without a skilled birth attendant present at the time of birth. Maternity Waiting Homes provide women a place to stay pre- and postpartum and have been proven to be an effective approach to maternal care for women in remote communities. Mercy In Action anticipates 400 births in the coming year, 10% of which would require extensive travel for the woman in labor.

ODW + Mercy In Action

Our grant to Mercy In Action will fund the construction of 5 maternity waiting homes outside one of their birthing centers in the Philippines. These Cubos, as they're called, will house expectant women and their families in the weeks before and after birth. By building housing next to their birth center, they can provide care for women that would otherwise stay home and dangerously deliver without help due to the difficulty of travel.

Mercy In Action’s birthing centers are open to all women in the community, but it provides an especially invaluable service to the women of the Aeta tribe who travel up to three hours in order to be near a skilled birth attendant. These Cubos will also be a place for them to recuperate and learn more about proper nutrition and breast feeding. It's not an overstatement to say that these Cubos will save the lives of both mothers and babies.

We are very excited to partner with Mercy in Action and we look forward to updating you on this project in the coming months. 

Thank you for helping to make this grant possible!