Crowdfunding Initiative Gives The Gift Of Life This Mother’s Day
Kangu.org, a philanthropic crowdfunding platform that enables donors to crowdfund safe birth environments for pregnant women in developing countries, announced the launch of a new gift-giving feature, just in time for Mother’s Day. The tool allows users to contribute to the cost of critical medical services provided to a mom-to-be, on behalf of a special mom in their life. Each donation made on behalf of a mother will generate a personalized Mother’s Day e-card with details of the pregnant mom’s story.
Each day, 800 women in developing countries die from a complication related to pregnancy or childbirth, but 90 percent of these deaths could be prevented with access to skilled medical care and a safe and clean labor environment. Seeing an opportunity to save more than 250,000 lives each year, CEO Casey Santiago founded Kangu.org in 2012, in an effort to provide safe births to mothers who live in regions of the world with the highest maternal mortality rates, including areas of Uganda, Nepal, Burundi and India.
“I found that people were increasingly aware of the issue of preventable maternal mortality, but an easy way to be a part of the solution hadn’t been presented,” said Santiago. “Kangu’s crowdfunding technology allows people concerned about the issue to take simple, concrete and affordable action.”
Kangu has identified and partnered with local non-profit hospitals and clinics in developing countries to offer life-saving healthcare services to pregnant women and their newborns for an average cost of $200. Kangu’s social media platform gives people a chance to connect with, read about and see photographs of moms from other countries who will benefit from the services provided – which include prenatal care, delivery with a trained professional, emergency care and postnatal care. The website measures how much of each woman’s birth has been funded, and citizen philanthropists can donate as little as $10 towards the medical care and safe birth environment provided by Kangu’s partners.
“For the more than 2 billion women living on less than $2 a day, safe birth services are simply out of reach,” said Santiago. “On Mother’s Day – and every day – Kangu provides the opportunity to join together in celebration of motherhood, and to see the impact, one woman at a time.”
Furthermore, a Kangu gift makes for an easy, yet meaningful, Mother’s Day present for a loved one – and an invaluable gift for a mother and child in need of a safe birth. To learn more about Kangu or to make a donation this Mother’s Day, visit www.Kangu.org. You can also follow Kangu.org on Facebook and Twitter, and encourage your friends to give the gift of life using the hashtag #givemotherhood.