March 2, 2026

Hello, friends!

I have been meaning to check in and then I get online to follow the global news, and I feel paralyzed and furious and sick, all at the same time. Those of you who have been following along with me for quite some time know that my Ugandan travel brought me to Dubai multiple times, and I am lucky to have made some wonderful friends there. I'm relieved to say that they have all reached out to me to say they are safe. For those of you who may have friends or family in any of the areas affected by this latest nightmare, I will keep you in my thoughts and heart. 

Dubai

Only time will tell how this will affect my travel, so in the meantime I am just working away and preparing for my trip to the conference in Kenya. Preparation for the conference has included quite a few video meetings with the CoP members, the latest was a 2-hour meeting starting at 2am for me. Yikes. Timing is the biggest challenge for the CoP because we are trying to coordinate between multiple countries and time zones. I'm not the brightest bulb in the box at 2am, but I managed!

The conference should be interesting, with our session described as an interactive 2.5-hour session titled "Building Systems for Equitable Access to Obstetric Ultrasound through Task Sharing". Each of the 6 organizations in the CoP will give a brief introduction, describing different aspects of their particular organization, then participants can engage in discussions with any/all of the representatives on their prospective subjects. I have not been designated as a presenter, so I am not sure what my responsibilities will be at the conference. My position is new, so I think they are still trying to figure out how to utilize me, especially for the conference. I am looking forward to meeting everyone in person and I hope I will have a chance to speak with them and get a better idea of how I can help. 

Max has been checking in, and it sounds like all of the midwives are progressing well with their continued training. Sister Georgina (from the 1st training group) now has 2 additional midwives (from the last training group) to help with scanning at Adjumani refugee camp, and they all seem to be doing well. Sister has also excelled in her knitting! She has been making baby hats for all of the babies born in her care and has run out of yarn.

One of Sr. Georgina's hats

Rachel came up with the idea of bringing supplies to Kenya and putting them on a bus to Uganda, so I went to my local Goodwill and came home with a little over $200 worth of yarn! 😲😂

Yes, this is a shopping cart full of yarn!

My friend donated a large duffle bag, and I plan to fill it with blue towels and yarn and send it to Adjumani. I'll bring more yarn and supplies to the birth center when I go back in June. I will be making more knitting kits, so here's a wish list if any of you are interested in donating:

US 8 fixed circular needles, 16" (for hats)

US 13 or 15 fixed circular needles, 24" or longer (for baby blankets)

worsted weight yarn

stitch markers

Foldable metal scissors

I've also found quite a few of my supplies on Etsy, so I will also gratefully accept gift cards. 

Based on the past success of teaching knitting to the new midwives, I am going to plan on bringing at least a dozen kits with me. I have started collecting surgical towels again and already have enough to fill my large suitcase. I am trying to find some used ultrasound textbooks to bring along for references. They are pricey and heavy, but now that I leave a lot of my own supplies in my hut, I have more room in the suitcases. 

My dates for the next midwife training in Uganda have shifted a bit, in order to coincide with the US midwife students arrival with Rachel. I will leave mid-June and return home at the end of July. My second training will be in October, as usual. 

Well, that's about it for now. Short and sweet. 

Much love, Jo/MB