Join my Fight for our Babies, Leave your Footprint in our Community
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Join my Fight for our Babies, Leave your Footprint in our Community

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July 13, 2016

Written by Tonda Thompson, United Way Public Ally

Imagine carrying a healthy baby for nine months. The excitement and anticipation to hold this precious bundle can be overwhelming at times.  Throughout pregnancy your mind can’t help but imagine this someone looking just like you and with a heart beating as strong as a Djembe Drum. You can’t wait to meet this tiny person who’s been stretching, kicking and sometimes punching his or her way inside your womb. This was indeed my vivid vision throughout my pregnancy. On May 23rd 2013, that vision, became a reality. As quickly as he came into my world, 17 hours after becoming a new mom of an 8 pound 21 inch new baby, that hopeful vision turned into grief. My hello turned into a goodbye to my son. 

Due to unforeseen labor and delivery struggles, I was told that there was a short chance he would not make it. Within the first five minutes of holding Terrell, he passed away. Here I was a new mom for just a short period of time, but already unable to save and protect my son. For a long time, I blamed myself. Then as time passed, I learned to accept what happened was not my fault.  

Shortly after losing Terrell, I heard on the news that Milwaukee was a city with alarming high infant mortality rates. African American babies were dying three times faster than babies of European descent. As alarming as this issue was, by the grace of God, I took it as a sign to turn my grief into a fight for babies in Milwaukee and across the nation who like my son, had died too soon.

In 2014 I took the first step by becoming a Public Ally. Through the Americorps leadership program, I was placed at United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County to work with the Milwaukee Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families (LIHF) collaborative. It was the next step to gain the tools I needed to strategically fight for healthy birth outcomes in communities of color.

My work, combined with a strong desire to promote physical and mental wellness in communities of color to help prevent infant mortality lead to the idea of putting together a 5k walk/run. Most 5k’s in Milwaukee happen at the Lakefront. My passion was to bring it closer to my own neighborhood, Harambee. The Harambee neighborhood, which means pulling together in Swahili, had the 2nd highest infant mortality rate in 2013. I wanted my HaRUNbee Walk/Run for Healthy Birth Outcomes to bring my community together for a great cause and most importantly help heal my own broken heart.

I’m happy to say, three years after I lost my son Terrell, my vivid dream will become a reality. Not the one I had originally planned, but its significance is even bigger than I could have imagined. On August 6, I will walk with other mothers, sisters, brothers, colleagues who all want to make a difference in our community. You will always hear me say, from my own experience, a strong baby makes stronger families, which leads to stronger communities.

I encourage you to walk with me at HaRUNBee 2016 and to join the fight for our babies. 

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