Robinah and her son Eddy sharing a happy moment during a MAP parenting session
It's been a week since I returned to my second home in Uganda. Arriving at our offices in Kalisizo, I find our staff as usual, in a state of perpetual motion. It's 8 AM and six of our staff members are jumping into our 14-seat van to facilitate peer support groups for adolescent mothers, now serving nearly 1000 mother-baby pairs.
After drinking my first cup of Ugandan coffee, I pop my head in on a staff meeting led by Mama Ambassador Program Coordinator, Michael Lwetabe. Michael has been on staff for almost two years. What impressed me most was the depth of knowledge our staff has of so many individual mothers and babies. Even though we are serving thousands of women and children, these young mothers and babies are known by their first names, and our staff is fully committed to making sure that victims of sexual and gender-based violence are receiving the support they need, or that children suffering from malnutrition or malaria are referred to our partnering health facilities.
Improving health outcomes for mothers and children over many years takes more than merely implementing programs to ensure quality of care. It requires the trust of our beneficiary communities and district government partners. That trust is built over many years of love and caring service by our staff of 38 public health professionals.
Mama Ambassador Program Social Worker and Counselor Rosemary Nabayinda
Among our most skilled and inspiring staff is Rosemary Nabayinda, who for the past two years has served the women and children of Rakai and Kyotera Districts as a social worker, providing counseling to adolescent mothers in need. Rose was born and raised in the rural Bukomansimbi District, just north of the communities where we work. She is the proud mother of three daughters and a one-year old son. She began her career as a secondary school teacher in physics and chemistry.
Rosemary was so much more than a science teacher. She was what is called in Uganda, a Senior Woman, so she became a mentor and counselor to girls and young women as they faced the many challenges of adolescence. Seizing the opportunity to provide loving support to young women at risk, she began studying for her degree in Social Work on weekends. In 2019, she came to the BAMA Program as an enthusiastic volunteer, eager to help us in our Mama Ambassador Program, serving adolescent mothers and their babies. We immediately saw the passion and lovingkindness that Rosemary brought to her work each and every day, and so we hired her full-time.
Rosemary represents the heart and soul of the Babies and Mothers Alive Program. And thanks to her, and the rest of our amazing staff, we have dramatically improved the health of mothers and babies over the past six years.
It's not just inspiring staff like Rosemary that makes our work possible. Your support is critical to the success of our innovative programs. In a little over two months, we will be celebrating our Annual Music for Mothers Fundraiser. Please Save the Date, it's going to be an inspiring evening!
Wishing you, your family, and friends all the best from Uganda, and thank you as always for your support.
Marc