Dr. Canna, Gulu District Health Officer, takes pride in the partnership between WOtW and the Ministry of Health to strengthen the capacity of health care workers in evaluating and managing laboring mothers and their newborns. He is grateful for the resources provided, including ventilation bags and masks, training mannequins, and treatment algorithm posters now displayed in every maternity ward.

He is especially enthusiastic about the new obstetric Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) initiative, which will dramatically expand access to ultrasound for mothers in even the most remote villages, enabling earlier detection and management of maternal complications.

Dr. Canna looks forward to deepening this partnership, advancing maternal and child health care across the district, and tracking the impact of this work together.

Program Coordinator for WOtW

Sr. Anena Grace serves as both Assistant Gulu District Health Officer for Maternal and Child Health and WOtW Program Coordinator, bridging WOtW and Uganda's government health system. Trained as a midwife, her commitment to the cause is deeply personal — the loss of her own mother during childbirth drives her conviction that frontline health workers must be fully prepared to manage delivery complications and emergencies. She takes great pride in WOtW's three interconnected programs: the Low Dose High Frequency (LDHF) refresher training model, the obstetric Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) training program, and the engagement of Village Health Team members in community-based maternal and newborn care.

Under Sr. Grace's coordination, the Uganda WOtW team has earned national recognition, presenting the LDHF model at the 2025 Ugandan Safe Motherhood Conference and pioneering the first POCUS training program within Uganda's government health system — an achievement that has drawn the attention of the Ministry of Health. Outside of work, she is raising two sons, Paul and Stuart, who love school, riding bikes, and playing UNO.

Certificate Midwife at Angaya Health Centre III

Jackie has been a trainer of the Helping Babies Survive and Helping Mothers Survive curricula since 2013. She plays an important role in supervising the Low Dose High Frequency (LDHF) refresher training, working closely with staff at other health centres to encourage role-playing, collaboration, and peer-to-peer mentorship. She is also a vital facilitator of the Village Health Team training program.

Reflecting on her work, Jackie shares: "We have built the capacity of many healthcare workers, especially the midwives and other cadres. I'm proud to announce that with the skills empowered to them, there is a reduction in maternal and perinatal death. I am also proud to say that, working in a setting in a country that isn't developed and an area that has suffered 20 years of insurgency and war, I'm able to identify and appropriately refer mothers and infants who need advanced care."

Jackie is grateful for her partnership with WOtW and looks forward to continuing this collaborative work to improve the lives of mothers and babies across Gulu District.

A mother of four adult children, Jackie recently welcomed her first grandchild

Diploma Midwife at Angaya Health Centre III;

After more than a decade as a trainer, Susan has seen her teaching skills grow significantly — and so has her community's trust in the government health system. Her colleagues value her steady guidance, including successful remote support by phone when complications arise. As one of ten midwives trained in obstetric Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS), Susan plays a central role in its implementation across Gulu District, serving as a POCUS mentor herself, coordinating mentorship among fellow trainees and consulting gynecologists, and working closely with the US team to monitor and analyze program data.

"My colleagues and fellow health care providers have always been appreciative because with the frequent trainings and mentorship, they feel they have not been left alone… Midwives feel so proud when a mother and a baby walk out of the hospital healthy and happy."

Susan is the proud mother of three children: twins Hope and Happy, and their younger brother, Humble.

Dr. Ann Markes’ first contact with global health was at the age of 19 while participating in a semester abroad in Kenya. This was followed by two other trips to Kenya with her husband Matthew Kane, three months as medical students, and a year (1985-86) working at Tumutumu Hospital in Karatina. After raising three children and working in primary care, she started to participate in global health again, including several trips to Haiti and participation with Interplast in China and Vietnam. However, it was the work in northern Uganda that kept calling her back. The resilience of the Acholi people after suffering for so long during the war, the commitment of the health workers in northern Uganda to their people, the health workers’ enthusiasm for training, and their hard work to continue to pass that training on to their colleagues, are sources of great inspiration to her. She is enthusiastic about WOtW’s expansion since its inception in 2023, in particular the VHT training and the introduction of obstetric Point of Care Ultrasound. “I look forward to many future trips to Gulu, strengthening the partnership with the WOtW Uganda team, and expansion of the work that is being done together to ensure that every mother and baby get a healthy start…and are well on their way!”
After many years of affectionately being called “Jaja” (Grandmother) and “Papa” (Grandfather) by the Ugandan team members, Ann and Matthew are particularly happy to have recently welcomed their first grandchild to the world.

Linda Cohen, M.D. has been a practicing pediatrician for more than 40 years. Coming from a public health/school health background, she has always been interested in the physical and emotional well being of children and their families, particularly those living in conflict and low resource areas. For many years she was a member of a medical and dental brigade working in Honduras. She enjoyed her work with STEP UP, training Ugandan midwives and health workers in safe deliveries and newborn care.She looks forward to providing consultation and advice to Well on Their Way as they continue the work started by the STEP-UP medical team.

Ruth McDonald is a transactional real estate attorney who lives in Jacksonville, Florida. She enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with her husband and two children. After following the activities of Well On Their Way and its predecessor, Step-Up Uganda, for many years with deep admiration for the work being done, she had the opportunity to accompany the American team on its trip to Gulu in January of 2025 in order to provide administrative assistance to the medical team members. Witnessing the work being accomplished by the Ugandan and American teams was inspiring and humbling. Ruth looks forward to continuing to provide support, and is proud to be a part of the amazing work being done to improve the health and welfare of mothers and babies.

Megan Carmel is an obstetrician-gynecologist at Rochester Regional Health in Rochester, NY. She attended medical school at the University at Buffalo, and residency at URMC in Rochester, NY. She has been practicing for 10 years and specializes in general OB/GYN, pelvic pain and minimally invasive gynecology. International medicine has long been a dream of hers that only came to fruition in her 2020 trip with STEP-UP, when she worked with the medical team to develop and train modules on pre-eclampsia and eclampsia. WOtW’s focus on capacity building and the people involved, both in the US and Uganda, who are so passionate about learning from each other, are what compelled me to join and will keep me involved for many years to come.” She is a wife and mother of two daughters, by far the greatest joys in her life.