Into the light
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ|September 2020
After being brutally kidnapped by rebel soldiers in Sierra Leone’s war, Aminata Conteh Biger escaped to Australia. Now this courageous trailblazer is helping to save mothers and babies in her hometown, writes Juliet Rieden.
Juliet Rieden
Into the light

It’s close to midnight in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Faint strains of street music provide a rhythmic backdrop to the howling and screaming coming from the maternity ward, and Aminata Conteh-Bigger can barely contain her excitement. This is the part of her work Aminata loves best of all, watching babies take their first breath in the safety of the hospital her Foundation helps to fund. “They’re popping out like popcorn,” chuckles the midwife as, amid a flurry of nurses and doctors, Aminata flits between beds chatting to exhausted mothers, cooing over newborns and marvelling at this miracle of life in what has become one of the most dangerous places to give birth in the world.

The Aberdeen Women’s Centre is the second busiest maternity hospital in the country, with 3000 babies delivered each year. It offers free medical services to the city’s poorest women and girls, including a children’s clinic treating more than 20,000 annually, the ‘Dream Team’ program for teenage mothers, and the only comprehensive fistula repair service in the country. No wonder, then, that this cluster of buildings in a secure gated compound with basic but efficient wards, operating theatres and clinics, is a source of pride for Aminata. “There is an urgent need for expansion, so we can service the vast numbers of expectant mothers who flood through our doors,” she explains. “Many of the mums are teenagers – one was as young as 12 – and they come from the slums, the streets or the country villages where there are no maternal health services at all.”

Bu hikaye Australian Women’s Weekly NZ dergisinin September 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye Australian Women’s Weekly NZ dergisinin September 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S WEEKLY NZ DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
PRETTY WOMAN
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

PRETTY WOMAN

Dial up the joy with a mood-boosting self-care session done in the privacy of your own home. It’s a blissful way to banish the winter blues.

time-read
3 dak  |
July 2024
Hitting a nerve
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

Hitting a nerve

Regulating the vagus nerve with its links to depression, anxiety, arthritis and diabetes could aid physical and mental wellbeing.

time-read
5 dak  |
July 2024
The unseen Rovals
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

The unseen Rovals

Candid, behind the scenes and neverbefore-seen images of the royal family have been released for a new exhibition.

time-read
2 dak  |
July 2024
Great read
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

Great read

In novels and life - there's power in the words left unsaid.

time-read
2 dak  |
July 2024
Winter dinner winners
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

Winter dinner winners

Looking for some thrifty inspiration for weeknight dinners? Try our tasty line-up of budget-concious recipes that are bound to please everyone at the table.

time-read
3 dak  |
July 2024
Winter baking with apples and pears
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

Winter baking with apples and pears

Celebrate the season of apples and pears with these sweet bakes that will keep the cold weather blues away.

time-read
7 dak  |
July 2024
The wines and lines mums
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

The wines and lines mums

Once only associated with glamorous A-listers, cocaine is now prevalent with the soccer-mum set - as likely to be imbibed at a school fundraiser as a nightclub. The Weekly looks inside this illegal, addictive, rising trend.

time-read
10+ dak  |
July 2024
Former ballerina'sBATTLE with BODY IMAGE
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

Former ballerina'sBATTLE with BODY IMAGE

Auckland author Sacha Jones reveals how dancing led her to develop an eating disorder and why she's now on a mission to educate other women.

time-read
7 dak  |
July 2024
MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN

When Alexei Navalny died in a brutal Arctic prison, Vladimir Putin thought he had triumphed over his most formidable opponent. Until three courageous women - Alexei's mother, wife and daughter - took up his fight for freedom.

time-read
8 dak  |
July 2024
IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO START
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO START

Responsible for keeping the likes of Jane Fonda and Jamie Lee Curtis in shape, Malin Svensson is on a mission to motivate those in midlife to move more.

time-read
5 dak  |
July 2024