Beata is a beautiful single mother of three.  She just had her third baby a few weeks ago.  Beata has taught us and inspired us so much.  Beata came to Embrace a few months ago after having several difficult experiences.  However, she was determined to get the care she needed for herself and her family.  Beata completed our Healthy Moms class series near the end of her pregnancy.  So, when her provider suggested some interventions that she was not comfortable with, she responded with questions and then confidence in the decisions she made. With the support of her Embrace volunteer and the education from the classes, Beata felt prepared to advocate for herself and her needs.  The same night after her appointment where she refused the interventions, she went into labor and the following morning gave birth to a healthy, beautiful baby girl.  We are so thankful and honored to walk alongside strong and resilient women like Beata who journey with love and courage through motherhood.  We believe mothers like Beata are the ones creating a better future for not only their families, but also our community and the world.

Photo & Story used with permission

​Overachiever award goes to Rebecca and Paxton
With over 450 hours of volunteering!  Rebecca has spent countless hours helping to develop our curriculum, teaching classes, helping with doctor's appointments, attending births, and being a fierce advocate for giving a voice to our mothers.

For attending over 10 births this year and over 50 doctors appointments! Paxton is someone is someone you can always count on.  She is consistent and reliable and fills in gaps and needs wherever she can.

All in award goes to Sarah
All of our volunteers are incredible people who welcome and love refugee mothers so unconditionally, but when we think of a volunteer who gives her whole self to this work, we think of Sarah-she gets to know a mother and her family and becomes like a sister to her and loves her so well.

Jump in award goes to Aryelle
In the nature of our work with pregnancy and birth, we often have last minute needs that arise, and need volunteers who are willing to be called day or night- whether doctors appointments, hospital visits, or labor support.  One of the folks who has filled this need so well is Aryelle.  She has spent the night at the hospital and given up weekend days, all with such flexibility and grace. 

​Shaw Ku Paw is from Burma. She has two sweet elementary school daughters. She has known great pain and loss in past birth experiences. Of course, a mother is changed forever by such outcomes. But, how powerful, also, when a mother can then follow these events with a birth experience that is positive and empowering. This past October, Shaw Ku Paw gave birth to a beautiful healthy baby girl. Her family has been overjoyed to welcome her into the world. Embrace has had the privilege of getting to walk with this family through the seasons of pain and joy. What gift to be trusted and welcomed into such an intimate space with a family! 

​“When the best leader's work is done the people say, 'We did it ourselves!'" — Lao-tsu
 
Empowerment is one of Embrace’s core values. We want to offer refugee women what they need in order to make their own decisions regarding their health, care for their family to the best of their abilities, and then show the way for others in their community to do the same. Therefore, one of the most important parts of our program is hiring refugees to educate, interpret, and guide women from their community throughout the process of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.
 
Pet Pet – Pet Pet is from Karen state in Burma. Pregnant with her first child, Pet Pet came to us a year ago eager to learn everything she could about pregnancy, birth, and parenting. She is a quick learner and quickly started sharing the information she received with other women around her and inviting them to our classes and mom’s circles. Now, we employ her to interpret for the classes, doctor’s appointments, and even births. She also helps to empower other women by teaching them how to take the bus to their appointments and advocate for themselves in the medical system.
Tarumbeta Obed – Yes, Obed is a man. You might be wondering how a male got involved with supporting and educating pregnant women. His involvement with health education for women started long before he came to America, actually. When Obed was a refugee in a camp in Tanzania, he started out getting menial work such as construction and soap-making/selling, but the leaders in the camp quickly saw his leadership capabilities and asked him to help interpret in their clinic. From there, he was trained to be an HIV counselor helping to educate families on the prevention of spreading HIV from mothers to babies. With his knowledge of 7+ languages, Obed has been helping us with interpretation for classes for the past couple years since we met him and his wife when his wife was expecting her 7th child. Now, he also helps women get to appointments, fill out paperwork, and connect to the resources they need.
Muzhda Oriakhil – We met Muzhda during her first pregnancy. Originally from Afghanistan, she came to America with her husband a few years ago. She is a delightful woman who has much intelligence and insight.  We recently hired her to help us reach out to the Afghani community and help in the office with administrative work.
Merry Seing Pai – Merry is a Chin (ethnicity from Burma) woman who was referred to Embrace by her caseworker when her second child was due. We immediately saw what a bold and courageous personality she had and asked if she would be willing to help interpret for our classes.  We then came to find out that Merry already had quite a bit of experience educating and advocating for women from the time she was a refugee in Malaysia and worked with a non-profit there to educate and advocate for women in domestic violence situations. Since we first met her, Merry has interpreted for classes, meetings, and appointments, as well as attending the birth of one of the women from her community.