Twaweza - Chama cha MamaToto!

L & C
Nov 9, 2018
3 min read

I've spent most of the last three weeks in the field visiting our chamas (maternal and paternal peer-support groups) across three counties - Uasin Gishu, Trans Nzoia, and Bunyala. From the base of Mt. Elgon to the shores of Lake Victoria, chamas extend across Western Kenya and consist of nearly 700 actively participating mother-infant dyads and 80 community health volunteers (CHVs). My experiences in the field have been nothing short of incredible, and I'm blown away by the commitment displayed not only by our team, but most of all, by the families and CHVs leading the charge.

In rural communities in Kenya, women bear the primary responsibility of gathering fuel, food and water, as well as managing the livelihoods of their families. Thus, the majority of women struggle to care for their own and their children's health. Poorer women have greater barriers to accessing care, receive lower quality care, and are disproportionately constrained by demands of providing for their families. Translated from kiswahili as 'groups', chamas have a longstanding presence in East Africa. Chamas are highly gendered institutions that women have relied on for survival to pool resources. Using this existing cultural script, AMPATH has developed chamas tailored to the needs of pregnant women. Central to this approach is the intergration of health, social and financial literacy education, with an additional savings and loan program. Chamas are designed to improve MNCH by generating positive peer support for women to advocate for themselves and account for the care they receive.

With our Trans Nzoia team visiting chamas in Kiminini

In high school, I was fascinated by images depicting mothers and children in my Art History and Studio Art classes. This interest initially manifested itself in term papers on Mary Cassatt's Breakfast in Bed and studies of Renaissance images of the Madonna and Child. A few years later, I studied abroad in Florence, Italy as a component of my Art History major and fell in love with Piero della Francesca's Madonna del Parto - so much so that I made it the focus of my thesis for my Early Renaissance course and returned to Monterchi a few times to see the fresco. At the time, I had a hard time pinpointing the magnetic quality and sense of calm I felt in these images. Through working with mothers and children in medical and graduate school, I began to realize this fascination centered on the incomparable and timeless bond between them - one that often (though not always) exemplifies empathy, selflessness and love in its purist form. Learning from mothers, fathers and their children throughout the last three weeks has been a tremendous privilege, and in many ways, I feel like I'm finally connecting the dots and discovering what I'm meant to do.

In the weeks ahead, I'll transition back to working at AMPATH headquarters and begin my research fellowship work on improving the monitoring and evaluation efforts for our chamas, integrating infant immunization and family planning services, as well as supporting data analysis for our cluster randomized control trial in Trans Nzoia. I'm excited to continue my work with chamas and for all the year ahead has in store.

Below are a few favorite snapshots and a video from field experiences in Trans Nzoia, Bunyala and Uasin Gishu! Asante kwa kusoma!

with love,

Lauren