A view from Africa

If you’ve been wondering whether it’s worth signing that petition or making that noise. If you’ve been thinking ‘These things don’t make a difference, there’s no point’  I’m here to tell you that there is.

When I started blogging 15 months ago I didn’t believe that my little voice would bring me all the way to Mozambique. I never dreamed that one of my blog posts would be scooped up by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and featured on their front page. I would’ve laughed if you had told me that I would be going to Downing Street next week to present our petition to the Prime Minister.

My little voice.

Standing up and being counted.

Sign it, now and ask all your friends to do the same. Encourage your children to sign it too for all the children in the world who don’t get vaccinated, then their voices will be heard too.

This is why.

Today I followed our vaccine on the next and final stage of his journey (he’s been tweeting as @MrVaccine, he’s a bit cheeky but he does a good job).

We visited the district health clinic in Guija and a wonderful woman called Mary of the Pains showed us how women receive healthcare  information with the use of her faithful flip chart.

We had a look at the vaccine fridges and watched as our vaccine was packed into his little box for the journey out to the village. He whizzed off and I got to follow him riding pillion!

I shall never complain about potholes in Somerset again, I did have to cling on pretty tightly but it was wonderful to be bumping along through open country rather than being confined to a jeep. My bottom may be bruised but it was the ride of a lifetime!

We arrived in April the 7^th village (April the 7^th is national women’s day in Mozambique) to find women already gathered at the health clinic under a tree.

They queued as I queued with mine, waiting to have their babies weighed and passing the time of day with the other mothers.

Babies and small children were weighed just as mine were.

If you are still wondering if signing the petition is worth it these should sway you.

This is the little girl who got our vaccine.

Isn’t she worth it?

Are they?

I had a fantastic day looking at what aid does best, this is where it works and it needs to be allowed to do more.

(I have more to say about today but I have been up since 5am it is now 10.45pm and I have other stuff still to do!)

Chris Mosler is one of three ‘Mummy bloggers’ currently visiting Mozambique with Save the Children to follow the journey of a vaccine. Her blog is called Thinly Spread. 

Follow the mummy bloggers’ journey, learn more about it, and tell world leaders they have 4 hours to save 4 million lives when they meet to decide vaccine funding on 13 June 13.