Reclaiming the sacred
The Story Behind The Midwife Project – Guatemaya
Reviving Maya Midwifery through Empowerment, Education & Ceremony
At Gulagbi, we believe that Indigenous women and midwives deserve to reclaim what has always been theirs: their power, their purpose, and their ancestral wisdom. This belief guides all of our projects — whether in Far North Queensland, Papua New Guinea, or, as in this case, with our sisters in the highlands and villages of Guatemala.
Just as many First Nations women in Australia have faced cultural loss through colonisation and imposed medical systems, Maya women in Guatemala have endured generations of disconnection — from colonisation, civil war, violence, and forced westernisation. This has led to one of the highest maternal mortality rates in Latin America, and the tragic silencing of traditional midwifery passed from grandmother to granddaughter.
In line with Gulagbi’s mission to restore culturally safe birthing knowledge and support across Indigenous communities, we are proud to stand in solidarity with The Midwife Project – Guatemaya to rematriate traditional Maya midwifery.
Empowerment Through Education: Reviving a Sacred Calling
Through the Empowerment Through Education program, Maya midwife elders are gathering around the sacred fire — choosing to document and preserve their oral history and pass down their ancestral midwifery knowledge. This program,, integrates traditional birth wisdom and spiritual care with essential modern health practices.
From 2021–2024, 40 Maya midwives graduated from this 6-month education course. With additional training in neonatal resuscitation and haemorrhage care, a total of 45 Indigenous midwives have now been equipped to care for their communities — not only with physical skills, but with deep reverence for the spiritual and cultural practices of Maya birthwork.
Just as Gulagbi works to train, equip, and honour traditional midwives, this project is ensuring Maya midwives receive:
Full scholarships to attend the 6-month program
Transport, meals, supplies, and ceremonial tools
Ongoing mentorship and midwifery kits
Support in preserving their stories and ancestral knowledge
A future vision of a community birthing centre and holistic clinic, led by Indigenous women
Midwifery as Ceremony, Spirit Work, and Sovereignty
In Maya culture, midwifery is a sacred calling — often revealed through dreams and guided by the spirits of ancestors. These women learn through visions, not textbooks. They carry sacred stones to every birth. They pray and light candles before setting out to attend mothers. They gather herbs from the land, and their care is both physical and spiritual — a holistic approach that echoes our values at Gulagbi.
We believe, as they do, that when women remember who they are when they are supported to live their calling — entire communities are transformed.
This sacred thread, from womb to womb, from elder to youth, is what keeps culture alive. It is the same thread we honour in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Laos, and now in Guatemala.
Why Gulagbi Supports This Work
Our support for The Midwife Project – Guatemaya is rooted in solidarity and shared purpose:
Both Gulagbi and The Midwife Project are community-led, grassroots efforts that respond directly to the lived realities of Indigenous women.
Both seek to train birthworkers/midwives not only in clinical safety, but in cultural knowledge, confidence, and community leadership.
Both challenge systems that have displaced Indigenous ways of knowing — and instead uplift ancestral care as a pathway to health, dignity, and empowerment.
We see this work not as separate, but as part of the same global movement to return birth to the hands of women who carry generations of healing wisdom.
How You Can Support
We are currently working to raise $8,000 to keep Maya midwives enrolled in this powerful program. This amount will help cover:
Nutritious meals and drinks for students
Safe transport from remote villages
Hands-on learning materials (notebooks, medical tools, herbal supplies)
Ceremonial items to honour traditional practices
Fair pay for Indigenous midwife elders leading the training
Every donation makes a real difference:
$25 = Meals or ceremonial supplies for a class
$40 = Learning materials for one midwife
$50 = Transport for a rural student
$128 = Fair pay for a Maya healer to lead a full class
$245 = Funds an entire day of teaching for 15 students
Every gift tears down a barrier. Every dollar preserves a lineage.
This is the work of cultural healing — and together, we can keep the fire of Maya midwifery alive.
In Solidarity, Across Oceans
Sarah Smits is a midwife based in Australia and one of Gulagbi’s directors, who has volunteered with The Midwife Project – Guatemala. She has seen first hand the dedication and passion these women have and her passion burns deep to help create more awareness and support for this project. All donations are collected in Australia and transferred directly to the midwife training program.
This is not charity. This is solidarity — woman to woman, midwife to midwife, ancestor to ancestor.
Donate now and help us reach our goal. Let’s uplift Indigenous women everywhere to reclaim their power, purpose, and ancestral wisdom.
