On the Lake Victoria islands, adolescent mothers face compounded barriers that most of us will never encounter. Too young, too far from care, and too often alone. Your support changes that.
Adolescent mothers on Bussi Island face a reality that is difficult to overstate. Many become pregnant before they have finished school, before they have any income of their own, and before they have anyone to guide them through what is happening to their bodies. Health facilities are hours away across water. Transport is expensive. The stigma around young pregnancy often silences the very conversations that could keep a mother and her baby safe.
Without support, young mothers are more likely to deliver at home without skilled help, more likely to drop out of any path toward economic independence, and more likely to raise children in cycles of poverty and poor health that repeat across generations. The cost of doing nothing is not just personal. It ripples outward into every family and every community these young women are part of.
Your support funds community health sessions that reach young mothers with information on safe pregnancy, danger signs, and the importance of delivering at a health facility. Many of these young women have never had this conversation with anyone before.
rained community health workers visit young mothers in their homes throughout their pregnancies and after delivery. For a young mother who cannot travel and does not know who to call, a visit from someone who knows her name and her situation can be the difference between a safe delivery and a crisis.
Young mothers are connected with peers who have been through similar experiences. These networks reduce isolation, build confidence, and create spaces where honest conversations about health, parenting, and the future become possible.
When a young mother needs clinical care that goes beyond what community sessions can provide, RAHI ensures she is referred to the right facility and followed up to make sure she actually got there and received the help she needed.
Your contribution does not just fund a program. It reaches a specific young woman on a specific island who is navigating one of the hardest experiences of her life without the support she deserves. Every gift, at every level, makes a tangible difference.