Narcisa is the mother of three young children. Through Jungle Mamas’ Birth Attendant Training, she has been empowered to teach other women in her community the value of safe birthing practices.

Narcisa’s training is crucial for her remote community in Ecuador, as they see the toll that traditional birthing practices have on the health and safety of mothers.

An important component of Jungle Mamas’ empowerment of women and communities is education around child spacing and the rights of women to choose. Narcisa has been one of very few women in Achuar communities who have felt empowered to have a strong voice in the choice of how many children to have.

Thanks to Narcisa and Jungle Mamas participants like her, the problems and controversy surrounding the choices of how many children to bear is becoming a top priority of community members (both women and men).

Narcisa’s community now looks to her as a leader, and she plans to share her wisdom with them in order to keep mothers and newborns safe!

Isabel, like most Achuar women, gave birth to 7 of her 8 children in the jungle completely alone. She had her 8th-and last-baby in the hospital in a town on the edge of the forest because she was living there at the time. Three months ago, thanks to the training she received from Jungle Mamas, Isabel broke tradition and attended her 17 year old daughter’s first birth. The baby was born safely, and both mother and son are doing fine.

The young mother’s birth took place not in the forest, but in Isabel’s home, close to a comforting fire where she was able to support her daughter using new skills, knowledge and supplies never before available. Isabel was joined by other students in the birth attendant training. As a result, in this community there has not been a single mother or baby die in childbirth, and nearly every birth has been attended by trained helpers since August 2009.

Isabel is also empowered to lead the newly formed Women’s Association for the Pumpuentsa Association in Achuar territory, and is committed to the preservation of Achuar culture, traditional dress and ancient healing methods. Isabel embodies the perfect blend of ancient healing wisdom and modern knowledge to help her community one birth at a time.

Since enrolling in the Jungle Mamas Program, Isabel has taken a stand to never again allow a woman to give birth alone. And she is firmly committed to participating in all future training provided by Jungle Mamas.  Thank you all for your generous support of Isabel’s training in this program!