Kareena Shaw

Kareena Shaw was a registered nurse for 20 years when she first heard Dr Andrew Browning AM speak about the plight of new mothers in Ethiopia living with obstetric fistula. Kareena felt compelled to volunteer, to which Dr Browning replied that he really needed midwives. As simple as that, Kareena decided to retrain as a midwife with the sole purpose of volunteering with Barbara May Foundation. 

In 2012, Kareena joined one of Dr Browning’s programs in Ethiopia, working alongside local staff in hospitals where maternal mortality was high.

“Initially I volunteered for 3 to 6 month stays. In Motta, Ethiopia, where the program began, the Maternity Unit was losing 10–20 mothers every few months. After the program had completed its 3 years it moved on. I visited Motta sometime later and the lead Midwife remembered me. He said excitedly, ‘Kareena, Kareena, we haven’t lost a Mumma in a year.’ I knew then the program was truly sustainable.” 

Since then, Kareena and her husband Brad have volunteered in Ethiopia and Tanzania, including playing key roles in establishing Kivulini Maternity Centre in Arusha. Today, Kareena continues to return to East Africa to help strengthen maternity services, train midwives, and support the management of maternal emergencies. 

Her passion remains the same as when she first heard Dr Browning speak: that no woman should lose her life in childbirth, and every mother deserves safe, dignified care.