‘A big difference’

Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine medical students recently gathered to assemble clean birthing kits that could help save mothers and newborns worldwide. 

Students assembled 75 clean birthing kits funded by a $750 grant from Compass, which is OUWB’s community engagement department focused on navigating connections with local, regional, national, and global communities. 

The clean birthing kits event was a partnership between Global Health Charities, a nonprofit organization serving communities with limited access to health care, and OUWB student organizations, Global Health Advocates (GHA) and the OB-GYN Interest Group (OGIG).

Nedi Affas, secretary of OGIG, coordinated the effort, which has taken place at OUWB for several years. 

“I have a passion for women’s health. I try to advocate and ensure they have the basic things everyone should have access to,” said Affas. “That’s why I really wanted to organize this project, so I cannot only be part of an organization that helps women but also ensure that my peers get exposed to such organizations.” 

‘Medical students are super diligent’ 

Global Health Charities was founded in 2013. Since then, the nonprofit has assembled about 30,000 birthing kits across 30 countries, protecting 60,000 lives. 

This year, students at OUWB assembled 75 kits, 25 more than last year. 

Each kit comes in a vacuum-sealed plastic bag and includes one bar of wrapped soap, two pairs of disposable gloves, four squares of gauze, antiseptic wipes, one single-edged razor blade with a cardboard safety cover, one cord clamp, a 3’ x 3’ plastic sheet (for the mother to give birth on), one infant hat, one 30" x 30" receiving blanket, and a birth pictorial. 

“Medical students are super diligent,” said Julie Borkowski, clean birth kit event coordinator at Global Health Charities. “They make sure that each one of the kits has everything it needs. I think it also adds value for their future endeavors.”

Many women in these communities are miles, sometimes days away from the nearest hospital, making facility-based deliveries unrealistic. In regions affected by conflict and crisis, hospitals get destroyed, leading many women to give birth in basements or bomb shelters. 

Students chat while assembling the clean birthing kits.

“There are still so many people who don’t have the health care access…people are living in poverty and delivering their babies on the floor, it’s really eye-opening and shows you that you can do a little thing and make such a big difference,” said Emily Tecevic, M2. 

“We often forget that so many people around the world don’t have access to things like that (health care), so I think participating in these kinds of events reminds us of our privilege, and what it means to be a doctor outside of the hospital,” said Daniella Ghafari, M1. 

Compass mini-grants 

Every year, individual students and student organizations are invited to submit a Compass Community Service Mini-Grant application. 

The mini-grant program is designed to encourage students, faculty, and staff to design and implement innovative service programs for the community surrounding OUWB. Grants ranging from $50 to $500 are available. 

Since 2017, a total of more than $57,000 has been awarded to more than 120 initiatives like the clean birth kit program. 

Jean Szura, Ph.D., director, Service Learning, Compass, said applicants generally are required to provide a rationale and budget for whatever they have planned. Up to 20 applications a year are submitted. 

“We want to empower people to pursue their passions and community work that’s important to them,” said Szura. “Students get so much more out of it when they are champions and leaders of their programs.” 

Because the grant recipients are supporting the community, they are also supporting the Compass mission and, in turn, the mission, vision, and values of OUWB. 

“It’s a win-win for everybody,” said Szura. 

And the clean birth kit initiative perfectly embodies the program, she said.

“It directly benefits those in need in our global community; it raises awareness of a community issue that many may not be familiar with; it provides our excellent students, such as Nedi, the opportunity to take on a leadership role with the initiative; and it educates the OUWB community and beyond,” said Szura. “We are thrilled to support it.”