Frontier Nursing University (FNU) student Madeline Anderson, RN, BSN, CLC is answering the call to serve a population of rural, underserved mothers – a call she experienced while halfway across the world. In April of 2018, Madeline traveled to Yala, Kenya with the Matibabu Foundation on a medical mission trip. A nurse-midwifery student at FNU, Madeline served in the maternity unit at Yala Hospital helping new moms deliver their children.
She was dismayed to find out that women in Kenya have to bring their own supplies to the hospital for after delivering their child – things like a bar of soap and a baby blanket – and many of them can’t afford those basic supplies.
Madeline, an RN in Labor & Delivery at Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree, Colo., returned stateside with a burning desire to see the new moms properly provided for. With two young children of her own, Madeline understood the importance for women to have healthy birth and postpartum experiences regardless of their economic status. Together with her friend Kate, she opened Mama Packs for Kenya, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides supplies for these new moms.
A new mother receives a “mama pack” with essentials for her newborn
The “mama packs,” which include: a roll of cotton, bar of soap, wash basin, baby blanket, plate, and cup, cost only $8-9 U.S. dollars to put together. Because Madeline works so closely with the Matibabu Foundation and the nurses at the Yala hospital, they are able to make all of the purchases for the packs in Kenya, saving on shipping and supporting the local economy.
Mama Packs for Kenya has had such a great response that the hospital in Yala is already receiving a surplus of packs. Madeline plans to expand into other local Kenyan hospitals with the help of the Matibabu Foundation.
Meanwhile, Madeline continues her FNU nurse-midwifery coursework. She is in CNEP class 158 and has found that her time at FNU has made her a more confident health care provider.
“My experience at Frontier has been awesome,” she said. “The classes have really helped with building my confidence.”
Madeline smiles with a mother and baby at Yala hospital
Madeline says having a better understanding of worldwide nursing and giving presentations in her classes prepared her for the opportunity to pass along her knowledge to many of the doctors and staff at Yala hospital.
“Before this I was really nervous to talk in front of people,” she said. “But while I was in Kenya, I was able to teach basic principles and resuscitation courses to the whole hospital staff. It’s really changing me from the nurse to the practitioner role.”
Madeline plans to pursue a DNP after completion of her MSN.
As Mama Packs for Kenya continues to grow, its biggest needs are monetary donations or volunteer hours. You can donate here, or learn more about volunteering here. You can also find Mama Packs for Kenya on Facebook and Instagram.
Due to poor staffing ratios, there is also a large need for nurses’ help in many Kenyan hospitals. If you are interested in using your nursing skills to serve the underserved in Kenya, contact Madeline.
Thank you, Madeline, for going above and beyond the call of service and representing FNU with excellence!
At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community who are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.
Carrie Belin is an experienced board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and a graduate of the Johns Hopkins DNP program, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Georgetown University School of Nursing, and Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She has also completed fellowships at Georgetown and the University of California Irvine.
Angie has been a full-scope midwife since 2009. She has experience in various birth settings including home, hospital, and birth centers. She is committed to integrating the midwifery model of care in the US. She completed her master’s degree in nurse-midwifery at Frontier Nursing University (FNU) and her Doctorate at Johns Hopkins University. She currently serves as the midwifery clinical faculty at FNU. Angie is motivated by the desire to improve the quality of healthcare and has led quality improvement projects on skin-to-skin implementation, labor induction, and improving transfer of care practices between hospital and community midwives. In 2017, she created a short film on skin-to-skin called 
Justin C. Daily, BSN, RN, has ten years of experience in nursing. At the start of his nursing career, Justin worked as a floor nurse on the oncology floor at St. Francis. He then spent two years as the Director of Nursing in a small rural Kansas hospital before returning to St. Francis and the oncology unit. He has been in his current position as the Chemo Nurse Educator for the past four years. He earned an Associate in Nurse from Hutchinson Community College and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Bethel College.
Brandy Jackson serves as the Director of Undergraduate Nursing Programs and Assistant Educator at Wichita State University and Co-Director of Access in Nursing. Brandy is a seasoned educator with over 15 years of experience. Before entering academia, Brandy served in Hospital-based leadership and Critical Care Staff nurse roles. Brandy is passionate about equity in nursing education with a focus on individuals with disabilities. Her current research interests include accommodations of nursing students with disabilities in clinical learning environments and breaking down barriers for historically unrepresented individuals to enter the nursing profession. Brandy is also actively engaged in Interprofessional Education development, creating IPE opportunities for faculty and students at Wichita State. Brandy is an active member of Wichita Women for Good and Soroptimist, with the goal to empower women and girls. Brandy is a TeamSTEPPS master trainer. She received the DASIY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty in 2019 at Wichita State University. 
Dr. Sabrina Ali Jamal-Eddine is an Arab-disabled queer woman of color with a PhD in Nursing and an interdisciplinary certificate in Disability Ethics from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). Dr. Jamal-Eddine’s doctoral research explored spoken word poetry as a form of critical narrative pedagogy to educate nursing students about disability, ableism, and disability justice. Dr. Jamal-Eddine now serves as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in UIC’s Department of Disability and Human Development and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities (NOND). During her doctoral program, Sabrina served as a Summer Fellow at a residential National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) Summer Institute at Arizona State University (2023), a summer fellow at Andrew W. Mellon’s National Humanities Without Walls program at University of Michigan (2022), a Summer Research Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Othering & Belonging Institute (2021), and an Illinois Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) trainee (2019-2020).
Vanessa Cameron works for Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nursing Education & Professional Development. She is also attending George Washington University and progressing towards a PhD in Nursing with an emphasis on ableism in nursing. After becoming disabled in April 2021, Vanessa’s worldview and perspective changed, and a recognition of the ableism present within healthcare and within the culture of nursing was apparent. She has been working since that time to provide educational foundations for nurses about disability and ableism, provide support for fellow disabled nursing colleagues, and advocate for the disabled community within healthcare settings to reduce disparities.
Dr. Lucinda Canty is a certified nurse-midwife, Associate Professor of Nursing, and Director of the Seedworks Health Equity in Nursing Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Columbia University, a master’s degree from Yale University, specializing in nurse-midwifery, and a PhD from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Canty has provided reproductive health care for over 29 years. Her research interests include the prevention of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, reducing racial and ethnic health disparities in reproductive health, promoting diversity in nursing, and eliminating racism in nursing and midwifery.
Dr. Lisa Meeks is a distinguished scholar and leader whose unwavering commitment to inclusivity and excellence has significantly influenced the landscape of health professions education and accessibility. She is the founder and executive director of the DocsWithDisabilities Initiative and holds appointments as an Associate Professor in the Departments of Learning Health Sciences and Family Medicine at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Nikia Grayson, DNP, MSN, MPH, MA, CNM, FNP-C, FACNM (she/her) is a trailblazing force in reproductive justice, blending her expertise as a public health activist, anthropologist, and family nurse-midwife to champion the rights and health of underserved communities. Graduating with distinction from Howard University, Nikia holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and a master’s degree in public health. Her academic journey also led her to the University of Memphis, where she earned a master’s in medical anthropology, and the University of Tennessee, where she achieved both a master’s in nursing and a doctorate in nursing practice. Complementing her extensive education, she completed a post-master’s certificate in midwifery at Frontier Nursing University.
Dr. Tia Brown McNair is the Vice President in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. She oversees both funded projects and AAC&U’s continuing programs on equity, inclusive excellence, high-impact practices, and student success. McNair directs AAC&U’s Summer Institutes on High-Impact Practices and Student Success, and TRHT Campus Centers and serves as the project director for several AAC&U initiatives, including the development of a TRHT-focused campus climate toolkit. She is the lead author of From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education (January 2020) and Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success (July 2016 and August 2022 Second edition).