Transportation For School & To Help Others

Helping others has always been a passion for me and is something I desire to do with my life. I grew up as the oldest in a large family, watching my mother give birth to my siblings. So the desire to help birthing mothers has been growing within me for a while. At the beginning of 2019 I began training to become a doula. A doula is a person that helps a laboring mother when she is giving birth. I as a doula help support the mother physically, emotionally, and with information throughout the duration of her labor no matter how long her labor is. After beginning training, I fell more and more in love with being a doula because I get to be the support a mother needs during her labor. I began my training with DONA International and recently began also training in bereavement through Stillbirthday University. These programs have been so impactful and wonderful in helping me learn how to be a great doula in every circumstance. The bereavement program has been filled with information and at times heartbreak. It brings me back to remembering three years ago when my mother gave birth to my sister Amalia Rose, a full-term stillborn. This is something I hold very close to my heart, and I long to be able to support families and mothers who are going through a loss as well as supporting mothers through live births. 

I am currently in the process of completing my certifications through both schools and just need to do a few things left to complete the programs. With the DONA International program, I have certain deadlines that I have to get all my requirements done by. I must be able to fulfill my requirements in 2020 or else I will have to pay the program fee again and start all over. Some of the requirements I need to do require me to have a vehicle so I can attend different classes in San Diego, and start attending more births. I need to attend a minimum of five births, of which I have already attended two.  The hardest thing though is that I don't have reliable transportation to finish my schooling and to be able to get to births. 

So maybe you're wondering, why don't I just use public transportation? A few reasons, first, my family and I are in Baja California, Mexico doing missions work and my schooling requirements need to be completed in San Diego. So it's not really feasible to take public transportation. Secondly, I need to be able to have a quick way to get to births. Public transportation often takes much longer to get from one place to the next. Thirdly, most women begin labor in the middle of the night, public transportation is not available as easily or safe at that time of night, especially in Mexico.

So, the money I am raising is to help me get reliable transportation. That way I can finish the rest of my schooling and have an easy mode of transportation to be able to help birthing mothers. Since I'm nearing the end of my programs, I am trying to get the support for a vehicle as soon as possible to be able to finish my requirements for school. My goal is to have all my requirements done and finish my programs by May of 2020.

I have a passion to help mothers through their birth, in every kind of birth. When I finish my schooling, I plan to be able to not only be a doula professionally but also as a ministry. I believe each mother deserves to be loved and supported through their labor. So I want to be able to give free or low-cost doula services to be able to help mothers that can't afford much and don't have support. I also want to be able to help mothers in need that don't have access to quality care such as what I have seen and heard about in Mexico. Mothers giving birth in Mexico generally don't have good experiences, especially if they can't afford much. I believe that a mother should never feel alone, overwhelmed, or undervalued. Being a mother and giving birth is a wonderful, beautiful thing that I want to help each mother remember as a special time. 

Being a doula is so much more to me than just a career path. It's about love, encouragement, hope, and being able to help the birthing mother to feel empowered and supported. I love being able to help and support women through the birth of their baby, and one day I have the desire to become a midwife. My plan is that as a doula, I can begin saving for midwifery schooling in the future. Being a doula is a step along the path to help me pursue my goal of becoming a midwife one day. 

I am so thankful for each of you that has taken the time to read this long message of my hopes, goals, and dreams. I hope that you will consider helping me save for a vehicle to continue pursuing my goals of supporting every mother, in all kinds of births.  Thank you so much!!