EUROPE/ITALY - Testimony of the women of Doctors with Africa CUAMM

Padua (Agenzia Fides) - Women are at the center of Doctors with Africa CUAMM's commitment to health. To pay homage and witness their great and constant commitment, on the occasion of March 8, the organization shared the experiences of a Mozambican doctor and a South Sudanese project manager. "It was my father who first encouraged me to study. There weren't many fathers who thought like him, but I was the first of the family to graduate and then he too, who is now a lawyer, and my mother, who studied mathematics", says Inocencia Fumo from Nampula, who for 16 years has lived in Beira where she was able to study medicine thanks to a scholarship. "I would like my daughters to become strong women, with positive thinking, who are not afraid to achieve their dreams or fall. Because it is from the falls that we can start again". For women, education is the key. Today she works with CUAMM managing a project to fight diabetes and hypertension.
Martha Nyabel, a South Sudanese from the state of Jonglei, worked for three years in Nyal, an extremely rural area of South Sudan, where CUAMM carried out an emergency project for refugees fleeing conflict and hunger. She worked hard to ensure health services as much as possible (see Fides, 8/1/2016), notably succeeding in building an operating theater for emergencies and coordinating various mobile clinics. "This project has improved the lives of many people. It is a real joy for the community and also for me. I see it as a personal success. Now, I can see all those smiles on people's faces because of our commitment. I am committed to completing this project, so now I am happy".
55% of the expatriate staff of Doctors with Africa CUAMM are women: Italian and African professionals working at the forefront in the fight against maternal mortality, but also against malnutrition, HIV and non-communicable diseases. They manage projects, mediate with local authorities, decide how to use the funds available, often having to reconcile work with their family and mother's life. (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 8/3/2021)

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