Mai Naeley was a traditional birthing attendant (TBA) practising in a village around forty kilometres south of the capital city Lilongwe.
The University of Strathclyde built a birthing clinic at Mai Naeley's village, to replace the building she was using. The building was dirty, dilapidated, dangerous and unfit for purpose.
During visits the Project team had become aware that the old building was being used by the 'guardians' - women who nurse, feed and wash for the women giving birth, usually close relations or friends). They were using the building to sleep in, despite the obvious danger presented by the dilapidation.
The old building was knocked down by the villagers after the danger was pointed out to them. The consequence of this was that the guardians then slept inside the clinic.
Considering there may be a dozen or more guardians (sometimes with children), there was overcrowding in less-than-perfect conditions for the delivery of babies, most of whom are born at night.
Funds were made available from the Malawi Millennium Project to build a shelter to be used by both Mai Naeley and the guardians on the site of the dilapidated clinic. The total cost of the building, and some minor repairs to the roof of the clinic, was around £8,000.