Glory Reborn

A Year for New Opportunities

David Overton — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 01:46:31 +0000

As we mentioned in our last newsletter of 2011, there has been a lot of expansion at Glory Reborn. We are very excited to have even more expansion and growth in 2012 – in our facility, in the care that we provide, and in our hearts. This year we are expanding in a few specific ways: Partnerships, Missions & Movement.

Partnerships: We have the privilege of working with some great organizations here in Cebu and this year we are increasing our capacity to serve by taking our education modules outside of the clinic. We will be providing women’s health education to the clientele of our partners.

Missions: We will be returning to Cambodia in 2012 and we are very excited about this opportunity! We will be continuing to partner and work along side existing organizations there as we continue to look into opportunities for further expansion.

Movement: The Philippines is one of seven countries in the world that has an increasing HIV rate. As we survey the political and healthcare landscape we see models based on the “If we build it, they will come” mentality. Unfortunately for high risk individuals, that mentality does not work effectively. We therefore are focused on being in movement – always moving out of our walls and into communities that need help, and becoming a movement that inspires change within the communities around us and inspires others to use the talents that have to change the world. Part of the movement does include expanding our own facility to be able to provide additional services to the communities around as and be a training center for further expansion.

We’d like to thank each of you who contributed to support Glory Reborn in 2011, with your donations we were able to raise our annual budget and provide quality care for: hundreds of moms, who are so thankful just like the moms who shared their feedback earlier in the newsletter, hundreds of health babies and countless hopeful hearts!

Your support is making a lasting impact in the lives of Filipinos, and we are so appreciative of that! What type of lasting impact? Well, we recently reviewed our statistics and in our 8 years of operation, we have cared for over 3,000 women! During that time we have had zero maternal mortalities. Statistically, based on the maternal mortality rate of the Philippines, we should have seen 7 women die! The impact of your support has helped thousands of women & babies, and saved at least 7 women from certain death!

As we take on the New Opportunities of 2012, we need your support. If you already support us, thank you & consider telling a friend how simple it is to save 2 lives! For those that don’t yet support us, I hope you will prayerfully consider it. It is amazing just how powerful $1 a day can be, because with that amount we can save 2 lives! This is what I call pregnancy math: 1 mom + 1 baby = 2 lives saved all for $1 a day. Would you consider using the included envelope to save 2 lives today?

Below are two options to Save 2 Lives today, the first with a one time donation of $1/day for the year – $365 the second is an option to donate $30 per month and Save 2 Lives through the course of the year:

Save 2 Lives (One Time) Save 2 Lives (Monthly)

Feedback from Our Families

David Overton — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 23:01:43 +0000

We also want to share with you some encouraging feedback from our patients. After every delivery we ask our new moms and dads to fill up a comment card about their experience at Glory Reborn. As we were reviewing the comment cards this month we thought it would be nice for each of you to hear the feedback as well. Again, we are so thankful for the support that has been given to allow us to bless the moms, dads and babies of Cebu in this way. Here are a few of the comments mentioned.

When asked how they felt about the Glory Reborn Staff one patient writes (translated from Cebuano), “The staff were so very good in supporting me when I was in labor. They helped me through it (labor) and never left me alone.” There is a common practice to leave women alone to labor in the hospital. Many will only receive attention (we use the term attention very loosely – it does not include care, or compassion) upon check-in and when the baby is about to be born. For a lot of our patients this is the best part of being at Glory Reborn. When the patients enroll in our prenatal program they are assigned to a group of three midwives/nurses. These same three will follow them from first trimester until delivery of their precious newborn. It is an opportunity to gain trust with the moms and impact their lives while ensuring they are getting the individualized quality care that they deserve. One patient commented, “all my midwives were very friendly and cared for me”. Another writes (in English), “All personnel and staff were very kind and intelligent and knowledgable in all matters”. Our staff regularly attend seminars to update their skills and we are thankful for volunteers that can come and add knowledge by imparting new techniques and information to our staff. We certainly believe that by investing in our staff that they will fully invest themselves in caring for their patients.

During the prenatal check ups patients are placed into small groups and receive health teachings on a variety of topics: nutrition, labor and delivery, danger signs in pregnancy and newborn care. The moms also attend a Bible study during their prenatal check ups. When asked about their prenatal care one mom responded (translated from Cebuano), “I first learned about spiritual things here, that God wants to help me and be my strength. Second, I learned about my emotions and third, how to physically take care of myself for the good health of my baby.” Another mom writes, “The teachings and praise and Bible words showed me about God’s love and grace. I really gained more knowledge not only for my baby but for God.” One mom was able to list all the teachings she attended from newborn bath to comfort measures in pregnancy! One mommy wrote about breastfeeding, “I learned about how a mom should sacrifice her time and be patient with her baby”. We believe that we must empower our moms with knowledge to make them successful in their pregnancy and as mothers caring for their newborns. A key part of what we do on a daily basis is educate, educate, and educate! We are currently conducting a research study to determine which methods of educating mothers is most effective specifically when it comes to instructions for their medication (how to take medicines, the time schedule etc). We are eager to see the results so we can better equip the moms we serve.

The most touching answers came when asking the patients about their labor and delivery. Many personally thanked their respective midwives/nurses by name. Many commented, “Glory Reborn is the best because because it is so clean and so inexpensive and all the staff are beautiful”. One mom thanked the staff, “Although I was not admitted for labor but because of fever the staff gave me a chance to stay and took care of me and listened to my baby’s heartbeat. I was so thankful for this chance.” Another writes, “My labor was very long, 15 hours, and I’m thankful that the nurse and midwife never gave up on me and helped my body to delivery my baby. I am so thankful for everyone, none can compare to Glory Reborn”.

In closing it was refreshing to read the additional comments from the patients that they: “hope Glory Reborn will continue to serve all the women in Cebu”; “I hope Glory Reborn will continue to be here when I have my next baby”; “My experience was very good and I know that this is a part of God for Filipinos”.

Supporters, we are very thankful for your ongoing prayerful and financial support that touches the hearts of many Filipino women and babies. Thank you for equipping and empowering us to provide clean, quality care with hearts of compassion. We know that we are all part of one body in Christ each with it’s own role and we thank you for your role in brining Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies and Hopeful Hearts to Cebu!

A New Family

David Overton — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 18:56:18 +0000

It has been an exciting start into a New Year for us here at Glory Reborn. We had an experience that was a first for us here at the clinic. There are times when our mommies decide for a variety of reasons that they want to put their babies up for adoption. After much counsel if this is truly the wish of the mother then Glory Reborn refers their case to an amazing Christian orphanage in town. Once the baby is taken from Glory Reborn and put into the orphanage we don’t usually have the opportunity to see them again but know that they are in good hands. This month we had the privilege to see one of these babies meet his new family! Born in 2010 and named after our clinic driver John, this precious little one now has a beautiful family!

Baby John and his parents were able to come visit the clinic – the place where he w

as born and meet the midwife and nurse that delivered him. We were thankful that we had his first footprints and first picture in our records and were able to give these precious items to his new mom and dad. It was an incredibly fulfilling moment to have followed him from in the womb to welcoming him into the arms of his new family. We look forward to having a similar opportunity in the next few weeks with another little one born at the clinic who will be getting her new family. We are so blessed to know that truly there is a bright hope and future for each of these precious ones.

Happy Hearts

David Overton — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:16:03 +0000

Happy Hearts Day!

We are in the process of helping save another heart today and need your help!

Baby Boy Adelien who was born at the clinic a few days ago desperately needs an exchange blood transfusion - a potentially life-saving procedure that is done to counteract the effects of serious jaundice or changes in the blood due to diseases such as sickle cell anemia. The procedure involves slowly removing the patient’s blood and replacing it with fresh donor blood or plasma.

Baby Boy Adelien - See how jaundiced he is? (His color)

The public hospital is unable to perform this type of procedure so we have transferred him to a private hospital and our Pediatrician is handling the case. It is Valentine’s Day here in Cebu and Hilary is set to donate her blood this afternoon. (We have another Glory Reborn team member on standby) Their blood will be the blood that is used to replace Baby Adelien’s own blood. This is unlike any Valentine’s Day we could have ever imagined, but what better way to show love than this?

We need your help too this Valentine’s Day! Since the procedure has to be done in a private hospital, there will be bills to pay. We have negotiated a 15% discount with the hospital already, and will try to negotiate for more. This Valentine’s Day we’d like to ask you to help save a life, you can donate directly online via the link below.

Donate To Help Save Baby Adelien

Expansion of Hearts

David Overton — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:30:05 +0000

Glory Reborn was honored with the delivery of some very special baby girls this past month! Our first wonderful double duo of twin girls made their joyful appearance at the beginning of the month.

A cute baby a few hours after birth!

Both little girls were delivered in the clinic normally and both were healthy little ones, baby Sieltiel and baby Judiel. The timing could not have more perfect for these little ones to be delivered at Glory Reborn. We have begun to renovate and expand our current facility to cater more comfortably to our mommies and babies. The first priority was the expansion of our post-delivery area. The day the expansion was completed with four recovery beds and four baby bassinets we said the opening prayer and in came the twin mommy in labor. It was so beautiful to have our first mommy and her twin girls fill the room. Just hours later another special delivery arrived. It was our mommy who is a street-dweller. Having no where to stay she and her partner live on the streets of Cebu and sleep wherever they can find a dry slab of cement or sidewalk. We had met her and her other pregnant friend on a feeding outreach in downtown Cebu. Since then the two became part of the Glory Reborn social work program. She and her beautiful baby Rejoice were the next patients to fill the room. I could not have thought of a more perfect scenario that so perfectly summarizes what Glory Reborn is about. The overflow of a double blessing of life and a clean, new place for a little princess to be born safe from the harsh streets of Cebu. Truly these are the lives that Glory Reborn exists to serve and in doing so we are blessed beyond words.

A baby receives a Christmas gift

As we all just celebrated the Season and spent time with loved ones and family, and look forward to a New Year, we hope that these stories will warm your hearts. It is amazing for us to see such Hope in the eyes of our moms and as we reflect on all the lives that have been touched, we want to extend our deepest gratitude to those who have supported us in prayer, encouragement and donations. We could not have saved 4,224 lives without your support, thank you so much!

Speaking of lives that we are thankful for, Glory Reborn also welcomed into our family baby Kazumi. Our staff nurse delivered a healthy baby girl named Kazumi in just a few hours after a prayer for a quick and pain-free labor. God is so good and we are so thankful for another healthy little life in our Glory Reborn family! We’d also like to thank all of our new friends we met at the Phoenix Women’s Expo – we setup a booth for our cause to raise awareness!

As we look to 2012, we are looking to continue our growth and expansion – by continuing to continually improve our care, expanding our services and providing Hope to the hopeless. We need your help to do so, as you can see in our budget update below, we still have $44,461 to raise for our 2011 budget. While that seems a little intimidating, especially from here, we’d ask that you consider what a big difference you can make:

You can help us save 2 lives

- 1 mom & 1 baby -

for just $1 per day!

For only $365 you can give 2 Lives a chance to be Healthy & Hopeful this New Year!

For only $1 a day you can save 2 lives! Use the buttons below to make a one time donation of $365 or a monthly donation of $30.

Expansion

David Overton — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:50:53 +0000

our "Christmas Tree"

When Hilary and I moved to Cebu 8 years ago with our vision to start Glory Reborn, we rented a small apartment and began by simply providing prenatal checkups and health teachings on Friday mornings in our kitchen/living room. Our very first delivery was in this apartment’s spare bedroom and we quickly realized that Glory Reborn needed to grow. Our landlord had just completed an apartment building beside ours, so we agreed to rent out one unit for our clinic. We continued to grow and took a second apartment in the complex for our prenatal area, ultrasound room, supply room and our office. In July we took over the third apartment in the complex and began some major renovations to all three apartments. We wrapped up the renovations in October, and the results were wonderful: we doubled the size of our labor and deliver room, postpartum room, and our newborn area. We were also able to expand our prenatal areas to better accommodate our growing patient base. New paint, curtains and decor have really transformed Glory Reborn into a whole new clinic! We had some amazing help from a volunteer interior decorator and we finished just in time to have 5 boys delivered on the same day – something our previous setup could not have facilitated. Not to be outdone, the month of November brought us 6 babies born in 24 hours, a new record and thanks to the expansion, everyone was able to fit. Hilary and the staff handled it marvelously, and I am glad to say that I, David, didn’t need to be called into assist. For those of you keeping track at home, I am still not a midwife, and believe me, that is something to be thankful for.

It is amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do! This renovation has really revitalized the clinic, and brought us all back to our origin – a vision to help save lives & bring hope. In eight years we have delivered over 2,122 Healthy Babies in the clinic, seen over 2,122 Healthy Moms and helped created 4,244 Hopeful Hearts and counting! It is difficult for us to fathom that this vision, with its humble beginning in an apartment has saved over 4,244 Lives. We give all the credit to whom it is due: thanks to each of you who have donated to our cause, thanks to our amazing team at Glory Reborn who so faithfully serve with us, and we give all the thanks to God – the author and giver of Life.

As 2011 has just ended, we are not only reflecting on our origin but also looking forward to further expansion!

The Phoenix Women’s Expo

David Overton — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 01:41:45 +0000

Glory Reborn had a booth at the Phoenix Women’s Expo to raise awareness about our cause! We had a great time and we were able to raise awareness and connect with some amazing people. We want to thank all the new connections that we made there!

It is so encouraging to connect with women who are passionate about helping other women around the world! (We appreciate men who are passionate about that too!)

Hilary and I would also like to thank our board members for supporting this booth and promoting our cause! Don’t they look great in their scrubs?

Pink October

David Overton — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 10:31:15 +0000

October is breast cancer awareness month, and we fully support this cause! We encourage you to look for ways to help within your local communities.

If you are in Cebu City, join us at the Pink Bazaar: 14-15 October 2011 10am – 6pm @ The Marriott Hotel. You can pick up some fun items at the Bazaar, and all proceeds will go to benefit the iCanServe Foundation.

Be sure to drop by Glory Reborn’s booth for a chance to win an amazing prize with a donation of PHP 200!

The Abacá Group has donated an amazing prize to be raffled: a 1 room – 2 nights stay including breakfast for one lucky winner. Here are the details:

Open Minds & Big Hearts – a Visitor’s Experience

David Overton — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 03:36:08 +0000

We wanted to share with you a little story from a volunteer who recently came and worked with us in Cebu:

This summer, Martine and I were so lucky and privileged to spend one month at Glory Reborn Clinic in Cebu City. Both of us had just graduated from high school, and were looking forward to getting some new experiences and inspiration that would bring further in our lives. And sure we did…

Working at the clinic with the GR staff really had an effect on us. By closely watching and following the clinic’s work for one month, we saw a staff loving their jobs; taking good care of the mums and babies before-, during- and after the birth. We could easily see how essential and what a big effect they’re sharing of knowledge and their big hearts has in the society! Admiring and very inspiring to see how they promote healthy mums, healthy babies and hopeful hearts, because they really do a wonderful and important job!

Keep up the good work, you are making a big difference! I feel really grateful to get to know your open minds and big hearts; you are wonderful, Glory Reborn Organization.

- Helene, Norway

the Coffee Challenge

David Overton — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 22:31:36 +0000

our crazy idea about being able to change the world with the cost of a cup of coffee.

We <3 Coffee. Seriously. So it happened in fact that while we were in line at our local coffee shop we got to thinking about this: Rather than sipping on our delicious one pump Almond Soy Lattes (insert beverage of your choice here) every day, could we really make a difference with the $3 (or let’s be honest- MORE than $3) we spend daily on our caffeine fix.

So we started doing some math…well actually I (David) did, because you should all know I am still not a midwife, but I am an Economist, and well we found some pretty interesting results:

Our total cost to provide everything for both mom & baby, from prenatal care to newborn care is $400.

If we spend $3 on our daily latte, times 365 days a year that is a grand total $1,095 on coffee or around $100 a month ($91.25 for the accountants out there). Before you freak out on how much money you are actually spending on coffee every month, remember that you are going to change the world with this money!

If you divide the total annual coffee budget by $400, we could help 2.74 women have safe and healthy pregnancies at our clinic with our daily coffee budget. 2 women & therefore 2 babies for a total of 4 lives saved. Now that is amazing! Now you have the opportunity to really make a difference with that coffee budget and choose Moms & Babies over Coffee.

We’ve setup some monthly donations that allow you to easily sign up and continue to make a difference all year long, they even come in 3 convenient sizes: