Back in 2019, I had the privilege of attending the ICN - International Council of Nurses Congress held in Singapore. It was there that I had the opportunity to meet Dr Wendy Mcintosh, our Past President. During the congress, I presented a paper on the African Philosophy of Ubuntu and how it relates to the ethics of care. Dr Mcintosh found my presentation particularly interesting, as the principles I discussed aligned with her vision of establishing a Rotary Club for nurses aimed at providing aid and support to those in need around the world.
The club was officially launched in 2020, which coincidentally was also the Year of the Nurse and Midwife. I felt privileged to be one of the first individuals to join, and the club's history has since been written. We were motivated by our experience to present an abstract for the ICN Congress in Montreal. Our goal was to showcase the efforts of the Global Nurses and Midwives Rotary Club in supporting those in need across the globe. It was also an excellent opportunity to introduce our club to nurses and midwives from various parts of the world, aligning with the conference theme of "nurses together: a force for global health". Our team members, Mavis Mulaudzi, Cecelia Flomo, Trish Davidson, and Shelley Nowlan, attended the conference.
During the congress held from July 1st to 5th, 2023, we were allocated a slot to present an e-poster. The e-poster had the advantage of being presented at any time, without being restricted to the given slot. I collaborated with Cecelia closely, and we helped each other by constantly recruiting colleagues and presenting Rotary's work through the e- poster. Our colleagues from various countries were thrilled with the Rotary initiative, as it reflected their empathetic values. While some of them were familiar with Rotary Club, most of them heard about it for the first time. They expressed a desire to join the initiative as it was a commendable cause. We also shared the Turkish initiative and the donation we collected to support displaced nursing students. Such stories touched everyone's hearts, including my friend Helen Ku, who is the president of the national nursing association from Hong Kong. She was immediately interested in joining the club and said, "What a good initiative. Give me the forms to join."
I had the privilege of attending the International Congress of Midwives in Bali where I met Dr Sarah David from Living child incorporation Perth, Australia, and indigenous midwives from Papua New Guinea. I was thrilled to discover that the midwives from Papua New Guinea are utilising solar cases donated by GNMRC in their clinics to aid them during deliveries. These conferences are excellent opportunities for nurses and midwives to connect and establish meaningful relationships. We can leverage these occasions to highlight the achievements of GNMRC and invite more people to join our organisation. The more, the merrier!
PP Mavis Mulaudzi,
Global Nurses and Midwives Rotary Club
