Who We Are
Vessel Is Me is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving care for families who have experienced pregnancy loss, neonatal deaths and couples dealing with infertility. We offer peer counseling, professional grief counseling and perinatal bereavement training.
In December 2018, Vessel is Me was founded as a place for parents who have experienced the death of a baby to meet up and discuss their shared grief, the yearning for belonging underpins everything we do. Vessel is Me is the only provider of perinatal bereavement support services in Uganda, providing direct emotional support to over 300 bereaved families each year. Our model of peer-to-peer support places us in a strong and unique position to provide hope and understanding to bereaved parents and their families in Uganda.
Vessel Is Me support services include support lines, men’s support line, email support service and live chat, the first online live support one- on- one chat for bereaved parents, face- to- face support groups are also delivered every second Saturday of the month for women and once every three months for men. Vessel is Me distributes key information via digital and print brochures, available through health services our website. `We train volunteers and trained staff deliver thousands of hours of training for health professionals both online and face-to-face to help develop their bereavement care skills.
Our Mission
To increase awareness, support research, promote education, and encourage advocacy and family support regarding pregnancy and infant loss.
Our vision
We believe there is great hope for the future to prevent many pregnancy losses and neonatal deaths in Uganda and around Africa.
We envision that through the utilization of technology, education, grassroots efforts and partnerships, we can empower families and health professionals to identify and protect vulnerable babies.
Our Values
T – TRUSTWORTHY. (always seeking to improve in connecting and empathizing with people.)
R– RELIABLE. (Supporting people’s choices and decisions.)
U – UNDERSTANDING. (Being clear and straight forward.)
T – THERAUPETIC. (Listening so that we can understand and do the right thing.)
H – HONEST. (Prepared to speak up and challenge on people’s behalf.)
Goals & Objectives:
- Offer emotional & spiritual support to grieving parents & couples dealing with fertility challenges
- Increase awareness & promote education on Pregnancy And Infant Loss (P.A.I.L) and male & female fertility challenges
- To work in partnership with healthcare professionals to ensure that bereaved parents and families receive the best possible care.
- To promote improvements in practice and fund research to help reduce the number of babies dying from preventable causes.
- Strengthen research and advocacy of P.A.I.L & fertility challenges
