When Abraham Muma speaks about his work in Zambia, he does so with the conviction of someone answering a deep, personal calling. Source: Melbourne Catholic.
“There is that drive in me that pushes me further,” he said of his work as the project manager for the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health project in the Mpika Diocese in Zambia.
Mr Muma recently visited Australia on a speaking tour hosted by Catholic Mission as part of its campaign to raise awareness and support for their expanding partnership with the Mpika Diocese – a mission-driven collaboration to combat the region’s critical maternal health crisis.
At the heart of this project is a belief in sustainable, community-led change, grounded in faith and compassion.
The initiative is urgently needed. Zambia has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, with more than 30 per cent of women giving birth without medical assistance. Postpartum haemorrhage accounts for 34 per cent of maternal deaths.
Many women walk for days, even while in labour, to access basic care – if care is available at all.
Thanks to a three-year, $1 million commitment from Catholic Mission Australia, new infrastructure is being built, including a maternity ward and mothers’ shelter at Chalabesa Mission Hospital, along with 10 health outposts in isolated communities.
The project aims to reduce preventable deaths and restore dignity and hope to women and families across the diocese.
Mr Muma’s own journey into healthcare was forged through faith.
“‘As a young boy, being a Catholic, I had that passion to serve people and the community,” he said. “During my younger, formative years, I was thinking of becoming a priest … but later on, a second thought struck my mind.”
As Zambia was gripped by the HIV and AIDS crisis, Mr Muma shifted direction.
“‘There were so many people in need, and so many who were dying in hospitals. My focus changed from saving souls to saving the community,” he said.
Instead, he undertook training in medical school so he would be “ready to go into the field to help my brothers and sisters”.
As project manager, Mr Muma said there were two guiding principles for all who work with him in mission health: “You have to see Christ in the sick, and the sick should see Christ in you.”
When asked what the project needs most – equipment or funding – Mr Muma said: “Friendship, because with friendship there is genuine human connection and bridges of trust.”
To support Catholic Mission’s work in Mpika and help bring life-saving maternal care to remote communities in Zambia, visit www.catholicmission.org.au/mothers.
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Finding hope in every smile: Zambian health advocate’s lifesaving mission (Melbourne Catholic)
