In 2006-2007, Yale Women's Ice Hockey partnered with the Keiskamma Trust to implement the UbuMama project in Hamburg, South Africa. Hamburg is a small rural village located on the Eastern Cape of South Africa where a beautiful natural environment is marred by poverty and it's many consequences such as unemployment, poor nutrition, poor education, and insufficient healthcare. The Keiskamma Trust is an organization dedicated to bringing health and prosperity to Hamburg and its surrounding villages through various programs focusing on building mutual respect and cooperation and individual esteem empowerment.
In August 2007, the Keiskamma Trust implemented the UbuMama project in Hamburg, uniting ten local women to share their personal stories of motherhood and to develop a message for the world. This message and these stories have travelled to various U.S. college campuses as well as to the greatest global conference on maternal health to date (Women Deliver, London, England).
A Message to the World...
"We, as mothers of this community, have had a hard time in giving birth to and raising our children. Transportation is very difficult to come by and when in labour an ambulance has to be called from very far away and this has caused many problems in the births of our children. It was difficult even to take them to the clinic when they were older as we are living in a rural area and the clinic is too far away for us to get there easily. We have had to walk to the clinic and this has been very hard.
There have not been opportunities for employment and this has resulted in creating more difficulties as we haven't had the money to ensure that our children have a good education. There is no way in which we can afford for our children to attend tertiary education even though we wish for them to do so.
Nowadays we are living in a time when there is a lot of crime and this gives us a huge responsibility of looking after our children all the time. There are mothers who don't care and either abuse their children themselves or allow others to do it. This means that they don't know how special it is to have a child or they do not value the life they have given birth to. Although we are uneducated we have made a promise that we will love, care and educate our children.
To all the mothers we are saying, "Let us take care of our children, let us love them."
A Traditional Birthing Garment
This garment was designed and produced by the ten women participating in the UbuMama project. This is a traditional garment that would be worn by a pregnant woman in Hamburg, South Africa. Each panel on the skirt of this garment is one woman's story and an illustration of that story. Together, these stories depict the experience of birthing in their community and the challenges faced by women every day. This garment joins the UbuMama traveling exhibit to carry these stories and this message around the world.
Personal Stories
Novuyani Peyi
I was 18yrs when I first become a mother. I was still at school when I first fell pregnant. I had to drop out of school because I had to look after the baby. It was a hard time for me but I had no other choice. After some time I got married with the father of my baby, things got better for a while. I had my second child then I struggled again because the money he was earning was too little to support all of us. Things got worse and I had to find a job, but the problem was who is going to look after the child. I had to ask my neighbours to look after the baby. I had to wake up very early, prepare every thing, take the baby to my neighbour and go to work. In 1993 I was blessed with a baby girl and after the entire struggle I decided it’s the last one. Unexpectedly I became a mother to an orphaned child, this time things were better because I had a better job which I still have. Now I’m raising him with my two grand children. Being a mother is not an easy thing if you don’t have a job but you have to adjust yourself to any situation. You must have loved in order to stand it.
Lumka Macingwana
In 2002 me and my boyfriend planned and agreed to have a child. Then I fell pregnant and I got tested for HIV, I was so happy to know that I’m negative. My relationship with my boyfriend was fine at the beginning and even during the pregnancy period. In August 2003 I had a baby boy and his father was so excited to have a boy. After 3 months he changed his mind, he ran away leaving me with a burden. I was so frustrated because I was not working. I had to look for a job and I could not find it so I ended up working as a domestic worker. I was too young for that kind of job but I had no choice because I had to get money so I can feed the baby. At that time I was in East London so I came back home in 2004. I then came to work at Keiskamma Art Project and now everything is fine. After the entire struggle I decided this is my first and last child as long as I’m still single.
Buyiswa Beja
I fell pregnant when I was 17 yrs old and I was still a student. The father of the baby never showed any care at the very beginning. He told me that he is too young to have a child, so I decided not to bother following after him because I knew he wouldn't change his mind. I was never told of contraceptives by anyone. I delivered the baby in September 1991 by a caesarian section. After a week or two I had a problem with my operation and I went to the hospital, this is where and when I lost my child. A woman who was sitting on a chair outside sent me to a shop; she offered to hold my baby so I could quickly go in the store. I gave her my baby and I went and when I come back she was not there. I looked all over for her and asked if anyone has seen her, I couldn’t find her. I had a bad experience of being a mother and I thought I would never have a child again, but in 1995 I had another child again. I was so happy and careful.
Nokulunga Tupeni
When I first had a child I was unmarried. It was a hard time for me because at that time it was rare to see a girl pregnant and it was completely unacceptable. After some time I got married and I had my second child, I was then so proud and happy because I was with my husband. I saw a big difference between raising a child alone than with a husband. It was a little easier because my husband was helping me here and there. This made me proud and I didn't have to take care of everything myself. I became a happy mother after I got married because my husband was there for me.
Nolungile Ndonga
I got married in 1976 and I had my first child in 1978. I was not happy at all because I was still young and not ready for the marriage. The doctor told me that my bones were too small so I had all my children with a c-section. My mother helped me a lot because I could not do anything by myself as I was in pains. It wasn’t easy to raise the children but it was better because my husband was still alive. After he died in 2005 I struggled because I was alone and not working. After the operations and death of my husband, I got sick. I became diabetic. My other child got a job and things got better, especially now, since my children have grown up.
Thembisa Gusha
I’m a single mother who has two children. When I first fell pregnant I was so scared to tell my mother, thinking of what she might do. I decided not to tell her straight so I said to her "I’m sick." She took me to the clinic; I was tested and told that I was pregnant. I was also given a return date. I was trying by all means to eat healthy. I gave birth to a baby boy and his father was so happy. I raised my child with the help of my mother so I never felt any difficulty. Even with the second one it was the same. They are getting bigger now and I enjoyed being a mother and they never gave me any problems.
Ncameka Gedze
To raise a child as a single mother is not an easy thing to do, especially if you have never had a child before. It was very hard for me because I was a student. At the beginning I could not even wash or hold him, even to breast feed. I could not sleep at night because the baby was crying.
I had to wake up early in the morning and wash the napkins and prepare every thing for the baby before I went to school. Some times the baby gets sick and you don’t know what is wrong with him because he can’t talk. When he is sick or it’s time for immunization I must know that, that day I’m not going to school, I’m taking him to the clinic. As the time went by I got used to every thing and the baby was growing, so things were getting better. He grew up and I could send him anywhere now but I’m still a mother to him to guide him.
Nokuthula Mvaphantsi
I have three children and I was lucky to have my children inside my marriage. I’m going to talk about my first child because I had her on my fifth month.I fell pregnant to my first child and my husband was working in the mine so he was staying there and I was staying at Hamburg. I went to Joburg when I was five months pregnant. I was not feeling well and when I got to Joburg things got worse. I had to go to Baragwaneth hospital. When I reached the hospital I delivered a baby girl at five months. I was in the hospital for the rest of the time so she could finish the nine months growing inside an incubator. After nine months I was released and I went back to Joburg. When I arrived there I heard some rumours that my neighbor’s son was shot dead. I had a hard time with my baby so I decided to go home because I did not want anything bad to happen to my baby. I did not want to lose her not after the hard time I had. I went home and I raised my child happily.
Zukiswa Zitha
Being pregnant is the most enjoyable moment. When I got pregnant I was eating healthy, fruit and vegetables and other healthy foods. It was nice to listen and feel the baby kicking. I took care of my baby when she was still inside me. I wore warm clothes and I didn't drink or smoke. I was still a student when I first had a child so I dropped out of school but I went back to school the following year. Things got a little bit harder financially when the baby was born because my parents had to buy milk and food for the baby. When she started to eat adult food I was relieved and was happy again as things got back to normal.
Nofumene Thobi
I was never a happy mother because my husband was not working. But things were at least manageable when he was alive. He could take a cow and go to sell it so we could have some money to buy food and milk for the baby. When he died, I struggled a lot. I had to look after my children alone and I was not working. I then came to Keiskamma Art Project and it was a relief to me because I could get money to feed the children.