Ubumama

Greetings All,

Sunday afternoon I went to a World Mission Concert to benefit Ubumama, I'm so very glad that I did attend and grateful to my friend Kannali Makundi asked me to attend. Ubumama (Zulu for motherhood) is an arts based project dedicated to bringing mothers' stories of giving birth in the developing world into public view, to honor the lives of mothers and to increase commitment to saving the lives of women dying in childbirth. The garments (below) are made by the women and this is how they tell their stories. These garments are batiks, embroidered, hand dyed and sewn or I even heard woven is some of the areas where the project is in action.

Rev. Bliss Browne is founder and president of Imagine Chicago. Her work in Chicago has inspired a global movement of social innovation on six continents. She pioneered the Ubumama project in 2004 in partnership with WHO (World Health Organizations), the White Ribbon Alliance of Safe Motherhood and Create Africa South in Durban. Organize this event that was held at Grace Presbyterian Church of Wilmette, IL.

One of the evening speakers was Dr. Funmi Olopade (right). Dr Olopade is Director of the Center for Clinical Caner Genetics at the University of Chicago and an international leader in breast cancer research. She received her medical degree with distinction from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. A former James S. McDonnell foundation Scholar, in 2005, Dr. Olopade was named a MacArthur Fellow and awarded the Foundation's prestigious "genius grant".

The musician of the hours Claudia Schmidt (left) is a native of Michigan and has recorded 16 albums of mostly original songs, exploring folk, blues, and jazz idioms featuring her acclaimed string guitar and mountain dulcimer. Heard frequently on Folk Stage and Prairie Home Companion, her love of music is contagious, so full of like that one critic has described a Claudia Schmidt concert as "a lot like falling in love. You never know what is going to happen next, chances are it's going to be wonderful, every moment is burned into your memory, and you know you will never be the same.

This was a feast of the soul and spirit. Do go to the website link for more information on how you may help spread the word or get involve. Thank you in advance.