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    28 October 2022 - Salt Lake City
    News Release

    Decreasing Maternal Mortality, Supporting Education, and Building a Catholic Chapel: Service from Latter-day Saints Around the World

    Gynecologists in the Congo receive additional training, students in rural Philippines use new technology, and a cleanup project results in a new worship center for Catholics in Ecuador.

    Newsroom features stories from its dozens of websites around the world to show what members and leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are doing to serve their communities. Today, we feature news from the Republic of the Congo, the Philippines and Ecuador. 

       
    Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 / 2
         
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      Republic of the Congo: Mortality Rate of New Mothers Drops Due to Additional Medical Training

      Gynecologists and midwives from Brazzaville, the Republic of the Congo, received training to help them master techniques to prevent or manage hemorrhaging after childbirth. The free training was held in early October and was part of a series created by the country’s Ministry of Health and Population in collaboration with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This training has been implemented in countries across the globe and has been proven to decrease the rate of maternal mortality.

      Philippines: Church Supports Education in Remote Areas with 24 RACHEL-Plus Servers

      The Church of Jesus Christ distributed 24 Remote Area Community Hotspot for Education and Learning (RACHEL) Plus servers to various schools. Thirteen RACHEL-Plus servers were donated to schools in the Department of Education – Division of Laoag City, Ilocos Norte on Monday, September 26, 2022. Eleven servers went to the Schools Division Office of Nueva Ecija – San Antonio Annex at the San Antonio District office on Tuesday, October 11, 2022. As described by Philippines Newsroom (English), the portable, battery-powered devices contain “copies of educational websites offline. This means that RACHEL can go anywhere worldwide and wirelessly deliver free digital educational content to nearby tablets, laptops or smartphones with no internet or data plans required.”

      Principals and other school leaders attended the donation ceremonies. In Laoag City, school division superintendent, Dr. Vilma D. Eda, said, “Our principals and heads will ensure that each teacher will [place] value [on] the love given by the Latter-day Saints. These devices will transform children in the community, help them develop skills and guide them as they progress in their learning.”

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      Clean-up-in-Quevedo,-Ecuador
      Church missionaries and members work together to clean up a deserted lot. The volunteers returned later to build a new chapel on the site for their Catholic neighbors in Quevedo, Ecuador, October 2022.© 2022 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
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      Ecuador: Latter-day Saint Cleanup Efforts Lead to Creation of Catholic House of Worship

      In early October, members of the Church of Jesus Christ in Mi Pais, Quevedo, Ecuador, volunteered to clean an abandoned lot that was full of debris. According to an article from Ecuador Newsroom (Spanish), the result of their labor was so significant that the lot later became the home of a new Catholic chapel. Community members raised money for materials and the same volunteers returned to help with construction of the “faith center that would unite more people from the nearby population,” the article said.

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      Dancers pose with officials from INR and the Church after a special program demonstrating patients’ skills in sports and dance in Peru, October 13, 2022.2022 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
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      Peru: The National Institute of Rehabilitation (INR) Receives 290 Donated Wheelchairs

      In honor of Persons with Disabilities Day, observed October 13 in Peru, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated 290 wheelchairs to the National Institute of Rehabilitation Dra. Adriana Rebaza Flores (INR). INR provides patients with physical and emotional rehabilitation care.

      Johel Valdivia, manager in the Church’s Welfare and Self-Reliance Department, along with other local leaders, delivered the wheelchairs to Lily Pinguz Vergara, general director of INR. During the delivery, patients participated in a special program showcasing their skills in sports and dance. To learn more about this contribution, visit Peru Newsroom (Spanish).

      Peru: Furniture Contribution Aids in the Fight against Poverty

      On Monday, September 19, 2022, representatives from the Welfare and Self-Reliance Department of the Church joined with local Church leaders to deliver 128 wooden benches, 88 upholstered chairs, 20 pieces of wicker furniture, 14 blackboards, and other donated items to the Itinerant Platform for Social Action (PIAS). PIAS fights poverty among the rural Amazonian citizens of Loreto, Peru.

      To read more about this donation, visit Peru Newsroom (Spanish).

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