Family Planning Fund Progress

A few weeks ago I visited a family planning clinic in the city that I heard provided ligation and other family planning options at very affordable prices. I met one of the managers of the place who was extremely nice and helpful. The clinic is called Marie Stopes Clinic and apparently they are many like it around the developing world. I learned that Marie Stopes is a registered charity in the UK that indeed does work around the world in 40 countries. Surplus funds from the UK clinics, help support vital sexual and reproductive healthcare programs in some of the world’s poorest regions. I felt like I had struck it rich in learning about this place.
They provide every family planning method available including, birth control pills, condoms, depo-provera shots, IUDs, tubal ligation, and vasectomy. Their most popular service, it seems is ligation as it is an out-patient procedure that takes about 15 minutes. Women have to have at least 2 children over the age of 5 and must be older than 18 years of age. And they must be generally healthy. And the price? 400 pesos! That's less than $10USD and that includes post-op meds.
Another very interesting option is vasectomy. Not only is it free, they claim to actually provide 300 pesos (about $7USD) to the men who undergo vasectomy (also an out-patient procedure) as replacement of lost wages during the recovery period (they recommend taking it easy for about 2 days). So interesting. I love it that there is something accessible where the men can actually play a part in family planning. Getting them to go through with it may be another issue.
Unfortunately, the two women I spoke to about it (these women were the reason I wanted to start this thing in the first place) adamantly said, "Oh no, just me. He won't do that." At least for one of them she said her husband doesn't even want her to have ligation so vasectomy is out of the question. I think she is just going to have it done without her husband knowing. Frankly, I'm happy to help with it. She's the one I mentioned who is experiencing her 10th pregnancy. She really wanted ligation after her last baby but lacked resources and was so disappointed when she found out she was pregnant again.
So the manager at Marie Stopes gave me tons of brochures and price lists for our clinic to share with our moms. Since I met with her I've been compiling a very loose list of other available family planning services/contacts in the area. Little by little (cause I don't have tons of time to commit to this currently) I plan to acquire information of what else is out there. In the meantime, I have decided I would find a way to pay for family planning for those who really decide they want it and are really unable to pay for it. They will have a whole range of options to choose from.
Anyone want to donate some money for this? I'm keeping it very informal like I said, I'll set aside some money and then when a woman comes through our clinic that expresses a desire for help in this area, I'll give her the option of having it paid for. And then I'll share about that here. When/if you see me when we're in the US/Canada, feel free to just slip me a $5, $10, or $20 if you want to take part and know that I'll use it just for this purpose. Ideally, I'll be able to convince a few very fertile men to pitch in for the family and have a vasectomy.
I feel like I'm on a bit of a covert mission to help some of the women that seem so desperate for a little help in caring for their families. These are good women, good mothers who care for their kids, who really would love the chance to provide for them better and are aware of their limitations. I feel we can do much by assisting them in their desire for family planning. The ability to access resources in order to plan our families according to what we feel called to or capable of financially, physically, and emotionally or just because we've decided we want 2 kids or 4 kids is a privilege that most of us enjoy. I'm happy to pass on this empowerment. I will do what I can to advocate for them. Join me if you feel led. ;-)