Three area nurses will soon be headed to Haiti as part of "Midwives for Haiti," a non-profit organization that focuses on maternal-child health.
Suzi Saunders, a certified nurse midwife, Robin Dobbelman, RN, and Michele Kangas, RN, are hosting a Healdsburg fundraiser to help pay their way and purchase much-needed basic medical supplies.
The fundraising event will be Saturday, May 17 at Cardinal Newman High School's multi-purpose room from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Adults $20, kids under 10, $10, and there will be raffles, bingo, and a chicken or pasta dinner.
The trio is headed June 13 to 29 to the town of Hinche, Haiti, to mentor students learning to be safe birth providers in their own villages throughout Haiti.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and has the highest maternal and infant mortality rate as well, said Saunders, a Healdsburg native.
"Teaching local women to provide midwifery services in their own towns and villages will increase the rates of moms and babies surviving pregnancy and birth," she said.
Saunders did a similar volunteer trip to Olangapo, Philippines in 2012, and was inspired this time to include her co-workers.
Saunders, whose mother taught for 30-plus years in the Healdsburg Unified School District and whose father worked at Healdsburg Lumber, earned her nursing and public health degrees in Santa Cruz and Georgia, then moved back to Sonoma County.
"I love it here," she said, "and have been dedicated to women and children's health here ever since. I have worked for the same private practice OB/GYN group since 2000, and have had the privilege of attending nearly 3,000 births in my career here."
"I have long had the desire to serve women internationally," Saunder said. "For Robin and Michele, this will be their first international volunteer trip, but I am certain it won't be their (our!) last."
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