Maternity Delivery Service

Rooted in the Gospel call to protect life and uphold the dignity of every person, the Eastern Deanery AIDS Relief Program (EDARP) seeks to establish a maternity delivery service for women living in a densely populated slum community where safe childbirth care is often unavailable. This service will be added to the existing Soweto Outpatient Department (OPD), expanding a trusted place of healing that already serves the poorest and most vulnerable.

The maternity unit will provide safe, clinically sound delivery care, ensuring that mothers and newborns are welcomed into life with compassion, skill, and respect. In most cases, mothers can return home the day after delivery, having received proper medical attention and post-natal care.

This project will also unite EDARP’s antenatal clinics with a secure place for delivery, creating a seamless continuum of care from pregnancy through birth. For women who often face childbirth alone and at great risk, this service is a profound expression of hope and accompaniment.

Through this initiative, Maryknoll’s mission is made tangible—standing with mothers at the moment of new life, affirming God’s presence among the poor, and safeguarding life where it is most fragile.