Dismantling racial health inequities since 2014.
Founded in 2014, Harambee Village is a community-based doula agency committed to mothers, babies, and families.
The word "Harambee (Har-ahm-bay)" is our name and our mission; it means "Let's Pull Together" in the Swahili language.
Tia Murray, MS, CLC, CD(DONA)
Founder & CEO, Harambee Village Doulas | tia@harambeevillage.org
Founded in 2014, Harambee Village is a community-based doula agency committed to mothers, babies, and families.
Access to prenatal support systems enhances relationships and strengthens our village locally and globally. At Harambee Village, we provide a safe space for birthing people to have access to the support, compassion, and health care that they deserve. Harambee Village is a community- based agency that consists of a team of trusted, compassionate, and diverse doulas, trained by the industry's leading organizations.
Harambee Village has worked tirelessly to reimagine a new way of dismantling racial health disparities in maternal and child health. They have pulled their community together to begin improving birth outcomes in Wisconsin, through radical birth and reproductive justice work. Harambee Village is built upon the historical and profound work that was done on Madison’s southside during the late 80’s, through the early 2000’s. The work of the Harambee Family Enhancement Center, had a profound impact on black preterm birth rates, as well as black infant mortality rates in Dane County. Harambee Village has taken these lessons learned, and they have worked intentionally with our local community, to create a community based, culturally saturated approach to addressing racial disparities in maternal and child health outcomes.
Harambee Village was created to address gaps, needs and barriers witnessed and experienced in Dane County’s maternal and child health care delivery. In 2019, they renamed themselves. Hararmbee Village Doulas, and their community based doula agency is reaching families on a much larger scale. We are social entrepreneurs providing access to valuable services and support for diverse families. We provide consulting services, serve private doula clients, and also have an innovative community-based doula program (free/low cost doula support services/programming for marginalized families) that is funded through grants, in-kind work, service contracts, donations and fundraising. Harambee Village Doulas provides contractual employment opportunities to local doulas, lactation professionals, students, community residents, parents, and others who are interested in working within our agency.
Meet the Executive Team
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Uchenna Jones, RN, BSN, CLC, CD-HVD, CBD-DTD, CPT NASM
Nurse Consultant
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Coming November 2022!
NEW Executive Director
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Becca Wyland, BS
Executive Assistant & Projects Manager
What do we stand for?
MISSION
At Harambee Village, our mission is to pull our community together in order to improve health outcomes for birthing people and babies, while simultaneously promoting health equity. Our mission is to enhance the childbearing experience, empower women by promoting doula support, advocate evidenced-based care, and provide accessible education, based on the mother-centered model of maternity care.
VISION
To provide all birthing people access to socially and culturally specific care and support during pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, and beyond.
To provide a safe space for birthing people to have access to a comprehensive perinatal support system.
To strengthen our local community and village by providing all people with access to dignified care, education, and empowerment.
Harambee also recognizes the need for more doulas and Birth Workers of Color. The goal and purpose of which is intended to increase the number of highly skilled and culturally competent Birth Workers who represent the highest populations adversely affected by complications in birth and negative outcomes.
COMMITMENT
Access to equitable prenatal support systems enhances relationships and strengthens our village. At Harambee Village, we provide a safe space for mothers/parents to have access to the support, compassion and health care that they deserve. Harambee Village is a community- based agency that consists of a team of trusted, community based doulas, trained by the industry's leading organizations.
Our work involves educating the community, challenging racism, addressing gaps between policy and practice within the healthcare system, and combating the overuse of medical interventions on birthing bodies. It also involves advocating for universal access to culturally safe, family-centered health care. Additionally, our work is done through a reproductive justice framework, and it includes the right to choose whether or not to carry a pregnancy, to choose when, where, how, and with whom to birth, including access to traditional and indigenous birth-workers, such as midwives and doulas, and the right to breastfeeding support. Let us pull together for you!
