Babies and Mothers Alive (BAMA) Program
The BAMA Program is a vital partnership with the Ugandan Ministry of Health to dramatically reduce maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity in the Rakai and Kyotera Districts. BAMA addresses the three major delays impacting maternal and newborn death: 1) delay to seek care, 2) delay to access care, and 3) delay to receive quality care at a health facility. Since 2015, the program has built an engaged partnership with the local government and health providers at the 48 health centers and hospitals in our partnering districts. Major program interventions include health provider trainings and mentorships, peer support groups for adolescent mothers, distribution of life-saving medical supplies and equipment, and maternal and newborn health performance reviews at facility and district levels. BAMA also implements community mobilizations through Mama Ambassadors, Village Health Teams, radio talk shows, and support of local ambulances for transport to health facilities.
Since launching the BAMA Program in 2015 we have built a strong partnership with the District-level government and well as the Ugandan Ministry of Health. Brick by Brick is now looked upon as a thought leader in cost-effective, high impact maternal health programming.
·In 2015, 19 women died at government health facilities in the Rakai and Kyotera Districts due to treatable complications of labor. In 2018, thanks to improvements in quality of care initiated by the BAMA Program (the only project working in Maternal and Newborn Health in our Districts), that number was dramatically reduced to 5.
· We have trained 105 Mama Ambassadors, village-based Community Health Workers who identify every pregnant woman and work to encourage them to seek pre-natal care and deliver their babies in our partnering health facilities, a major factor in preventing maternal and newborn death and injury.
The My Pads Program partners with the Ugandan Ministries of Health and Education to run a 9- week co-educational after school program focusing on sexual and reproductive health, gender equality, and the promotion of healthy life choices. This program culminates in the fabrication of a set of reusable menstrual pads by the students. Through funding from the US State Department DREAMS-Innovation Challenge, My Pads has been implemented in 20 secondary schools in Rakai and Kyotera with over 3000 adolescent girls and young women.
Since 2012 over 4,700 adolescent girls and young women have participated in this program. 96.4% of our participating students have remained in school during the life of our program.
· With the support of the US-Government-funded DREAMS Program, we have launched our Seamstress Project, an innovative social enterprise initiative where local seamstresses train students to make improved reusable menstrual pads with sewing machines, addressing a gap in access to affordable menstrual hygiene products in rural Uganda.
·Our social enterprise Brick by Brick Construction Company, has constructed rain water harvesting systems and gender-sensitive changing rooms at 16 partnering secondary schools serving over 8,000 students.
In 2020, we have expanded this program to include out of school adolescents, both girls and boys, linking our young people to adolescent-friendly health services through our BAMA-trained health providers.
The Schools Program partners with the Ugandan Ministry of Education to select a number of Uganda Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools in the Rakai and Kyotera Districts for renovation and rebuilding. Nine schools have received construction through the program, including classroom blocks, teacher quarters, libraries, safe and sustainable sanitation and rainwater harvesting systems. In addition, the Schools Program implements the Library Project, which supports the creation of libraries in UPE schools and trains teachers and school administrators in management of these school libraries. All construction is done by our social enterprise, Brick by Brick Construction Company, utilizing environmentally sustainable appropriate technology.
·9 primary schools serving over 4000 students have been completely re-built through our partnership with local communities.
·Each project has been completed with a 25% contribution of the total value of construction from parents in the surrounding community.
·Partnering with We Share Solar, we have installed solar power lighting systems in 10 primary and secondary schools, providing light for the first time for thousands of students.
Brick by Brick Construction Company
Established in 2011, this innovative social enterprise is proving that a commitment to the Triple Bottom Line, People, Planet and Profit can work. We utilize an environmentally sustainable technology, Interlocking Stabilized Soil Bricks that helps fight deforestation and the eradication of wetlands. Our masons have completed over 300 projects throughout Uganda, providing safe, clean water for 200,000 people and saving 22 acres of forests from destruction. All profits are re-invested back to our programs or distributed to our staff of 30 through our profit sharing plan.
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