My name is Tebeje Misganaw and I am working in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional Health Bureau at the Health Research and Technology Transfer Department as a Health Research Officer.

Question 1 Introduction

I have been appointed as representative of the Bilma Project after I have discussed thoroughly on the issue with Mr Adane Sewuhunegn who was the former representative of the project. Once up on a time he told me that he was working with Bilma Foundation voluntarily - with monthly cellphone payments and with some student visiting perdium - as facilitator of Midwife Students Scholarship in SNNPR.

He informed me that the objective of foundation was to focus on those people who are living in the remote areas of the region. Additionally he emphasized that the foundation strives to train Midwife Nurses who are selected from the remote areas as it was stated above and the Midwives who speak the native language of the area will deployed after they have been graduated from Health Science Colleges so as to fill the gap that was identified by the Bilma Foundation.

Generally, the overall objective of the training was to build the capacity of skilled midwife nurses who will be working in different Health Centers in the selected Zone / Woreda in order to improve maternal health through skilled delivery.

Unfortunately, as he has got a PHD scholarship in Australia, he was not able to continue this responsibility. After he told me all things about foundation, he insisted me to hand over his responsibility by replacing him. After I understood all the objectives of the foundation that have been targeted on those mothers who are living in very remote areas to get skill delivery service and also to provide scholarship opportunity for those female students who are disadvantageous after completing grade 10 and those females students who meet the selection criteria of the foundation will have chance to be supported financially.

For the success of the objectives, I am very much interested and convinced to become representative of the Bilema Foundation and I want to take the advantage this opportunity to help others faithfully for the achievement of the intended objectives.

Some activities expected from me:

· Transferring the student’s allowances on a monthly basis

· Transferring the college fee through a six month interval

· Conducting new student interviews (with their general back ground)

· Performing follow up to each students through cellphone

In general I appreciate the objective of the foundation and I will continue its effort so as to address and to fill the gap of skill delivery shortage for those health centers which are found in very remote areas in country in general and particularly areas those are identified as hard to reach in SNNPR.

Question 2. I think you are mainly an in-between, what is special for you to be the in-between?

I am very proud that working with Bilma Foundation that is targeting the very remote community of our region to fill the gap of skill full midwife Health worker by providing complete scholarship to those students who come (selected) from their respective woreda.

This is really a lesson for me helping in the remote area to improve maternal health at community level. So even if I have duty of my official work I am also very happy involving such a kind of activities.

Regarding our student payment’s issue I will always try to doing as per Bilma Foundation rule and regulation. Attending students through phone call about their education, sending college fee twise a year and student’s salary monthly and also documenting soft and hard copy of all payment are main activities. Finally all scanned documents will be sent to the Bilma Foundation Chairman through e-mail.

I also will make good communication with both the Health Science College Deans about our student’s situation to solve any challenge that might happen through learning and teaching process.

Question 3. You are going to do all the interviews with our (new) students. So you ask about their motivations and origin. How important do you think this is and you ask these questions?

Knowing their background as well as their feeling about being midwife nurse to serve their community is important for upcoming responsibility as evidence. In addition to this, having full documentation of our students is very important and mandatory for different purpose to Bilma foundation.

Question 4. I think you sometimes also are functioning as a mediator / problem solver.

I know very well any decision must come from the chairman of the foundation. Not from me. Mediating is important for the successes of our project objectives my intention is proposing ideas concerning about the raised issue and coming to the solution with the agreed one is always important. But I never want to compromising rules and regulation that has been designed by the foundation. I will try to in line with the principle of Bilma foundation as much I doing.

But, some times, if I face a difficulty to communicate with you, because of a network problem or long field work time, I will communicate with the Regional Health Bureau (with Dr. Abraham or Mr. Aknaw) about a challenging problem and together with them I will decide on behalve of Bilma foundation for the betterment and success of the project objectives.

I think my responsibility is informing to you what is happing in our student teaching and a learning process with faithfully and good manner.

Question 5. One of our students is not returning to the place of origin, what do you do?

As you know, all students are coming from the rural part of our region, based on the selection criteria, I believe all students should return back to their respective woreda to fill the identified gap with a skilled midwife nurse, so as to serve their entire community after graduation. This is the main objective of Bilma foundation. Therefore with close contact of Regional Health Bureau I strongly try our students to be assigned in the right area where they come from. Otherwise, when the student is not working in the expected area, it will result in great doubt or trouble on the project’s continuity. (This is my expectation)

Question 6. What else you want to add about being Bilma Foundation’s Representative?

Be strong and continue your full scholarship project, till we fulfil the shortage of skilled Midwife Health workers at the inaccessible area of our region. I stand with your organization as I can. Even if some challenges may be faced during the step of our project objective we will solve it by dealing with the Regional Health Bureau and respective Zones as well as in the Woredas.