About the Barbara May Foundation
About the Foundation
Barbara May Foundation (BMF) is an Australian, Christian not-for-profit that raises philanthropic funds and partners with local organisations across Africa to deliver life-changing maternal healthcare, free of charge to women who need it most.
The majority of programs focus on women living in rural areas and among poorer communities, and are provided free-of-charge to those in need regardless of race, religion or financial capacity.
Dr Andrew Browning also undertakes extensive work treating women suffering from obstetric fistula* injuries and training other fistula surgeons.
You can download a copy of Barbara May Foundation’s Constitution here.
* Obstetric fistula injuries and treatment
Eradicated in the first world in the late 1800’s, obstetric fistula is a severe injury that can occur to a woman in childbirth caused by an obstructed labour. In the developed world, the injury would be prevented by a caesarean section. This intervention is often unavailable to many women in remote and poor regions and they can labour for up to 10 days causing terrible injury, usually a stillborn child, and in the worst cases, death. Often women go untreated for years, suffering ongoing pain, degradation and isolation. Dr Andrew Browning is considered one of the leading obstetric fistula surgeons in the world. Fistula injuries are treated at the Maternity Africa unit in Arusha and Andrew undertakes fistula campaigns in many African countries. There are estimated to be more than one million women living with a fistula injury.
Read more about Valerie Browning AM and Dr Andrew Browning AM.
Who Was Barbara May?
Barbara May Browning (1916 – 2004) was the mother of Valerie Browning and grandmother of Dr Andrew Browning. She lived an altruistic life based on her Christian values, placing little value on material possessions and always looked to improve the lives of others. She endeavoured to reflect the love of Christ to others, the love that she had known in her life.
The Foundation was established to honour her and the values she instilled in her large family. She was a great supporter of Valerie and Andrew’s work, and travelled to Africa in 1999, when aged 83, to see Valerie’s work first-hand. Two of Barbara’s sons, retired obstetrician, Dr David Browning, and retired Bishop, George Browning are founding members of the Board.
How can you help?
Programs supported wholly or in part by the Barbara May Foundation include:
- Vision Maternity Care Hospital in Barhir Dar, Ethiopia.
- Barbara May Maternity Hospital in Mille, Ethiopia.
- Kivulini Maternity Centre in Arusha, Tanzania. This centre provides obstetric services and an extensive fistula repair program which includes significant outreach programs.
- Midwife Training Programs
- Tertiary education of local medical professionals.