A lifetime of care: Celebrating Sister Christine and Sister Cornety
For decades, Sister Christine Otai and Sister Cornety Nakiganda have stood beside mothers during some of life’s most important moments. Together, they have dedicated more than 90 years to caring for women, newborns and families across Uganda.
They have welcomed babies into the world, comforted women through labour, stood alongside families in moments of heartbreak and loss, trained generations of health workers and helped transform maternal and newborn health in Uganda.
For both women, midwifery has always been more than a profession. Reflecting on her decades as a midwife, Sister Christine says for her, “midwifery is not just about birth; it is about being part of family lives, sometimes across generations.” Sister Cornety shares the same passion. “I have been a midwife for over 45 years, and I am very proud of my job,” she says.
“Childbirth is not just a medical event, but a deep human experience.”– Sister Christine.
As they retire, Sister Christine and Sister Cornety leave behind an extraordinary legacy — not only in the thousands of mothers and babies whose lives they have touched, but also in the stronger health systems, skilled health workers and healthier communities they have helped build. As Sister Cornety simply puts it: “We are lifesavers.”
Witnessing transformation in Uganda
When Sister Christine and Sister Cornety began working as midwives, the reality for many mothers and babies in Uganda looked very different. Access to healthcare was limited, many mothers delivered at home or with traditional birth attendants, and those experiencing complications often had to travel long distances to reach care.
“When I first started, mothers travelled long distances to find care,” says Sister Cornety. “Some were being brought 80 kilometres to Kiwoko Hospital. Many arrived too late.”
Care for vulnerable newborns was also very different. Sister Christine remembers those early days well.
“When Adara came in 1998, Kiwoko did not have a neonatal unit or incubators,” she says. “Babies were cared for in bed with their mothers and we had to use hot water bottles to keep them warm.”
What began as a small newborn unit at Kiwoko Hospital, equipped with a single borrowed incubator, has grown into a recognised centre of excellence in newborn care and laid the foundation for AdaraNewborn – Adara’s high-impact model of maternal and newborn care.
Today, AdaraNewborn has expanded to four districts across North-Central Uganda, reaching more hospitals, health workers and communities. More mothers are accessing quality care, more health workers are equipped with lifesaving skills, and more mothers and newborns are surviving and thriving.
Reflecting on the transformation she has witnessed, Sister Christine is proud of the role Adara has played in improving outcomes for mothers and babies. “Adara has brought a great change in neonatal and maternal care in this region,” she says.
For Christine and Cornety, this transformation is proof that lasting change is possible when communities, health workers and organisations work together to ensure every mother survives and every newborn has the chance to thrive.
Lessons learned: The power of compassion
Ask Sister Christine what she has learned from a lifetime in midwifery and her answer is simple: compassion matters.
“Listening with compassion is as important as clinical skills.”
Throughout her career, she has stood alongside women during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives, learning that kindness can be just as powerful as any intervention. “A mother shouldn’t go through labour alone,” she says. “What mothers remember most is kindness, respect and presence.”
For Sister Cornety, compassion has also meant supporting families beyond the hospital walls. Through her work in communities across Uganda, she has witnessed firsthand the challenges many families face and the importance of walking alongside them during a baby’s earliest days. She believes that caring for mothers and babies is a shared responsibility. “Teamwork is very, very important,” she says. “You cannot do anything alone.”
Together, the two women have spent their careers demonstrating the power of compassionate care. As Sister Christine reflects, “Medical knowledge saves lives, but without compassion it becomes mechanical.”
Passing on lifesaving skills
While thousands of mothers and babies have benefitted directly from Sister Cornety and Sister Christine’s care, their greatest legacy may be the generations of health workers they have trained, mentored and inspired.
For Sister Christine, much of that work has focused on supporting newborn care units and training health workers in lifesaving practices as Adara’s Senior Newborn Advisor. “I now mentor other midwives and nurses in the skills needed to care for mothers and newborns,” she says. “Continuing medical education is crucial in reducing preventable maternal and newborn deaths.”
Her impact reaches far beyond the facilities she visits. At almost any hour of the day, you can hear Sister Christine’s WhatsApp pinging with messages from newborn units across Uganda seeking guidance, reassurance or support. For many health workers, she is the trusted person they turn to when faced with a challenging case or difficult decision.
From teaching newborn resuscitation and immediate newborn care to mentoring midwives and nurses, she has helped build the skills and confidence of countless healthcare workers.
“Investing in midwives, mentoring health workers and strengthening rural hospitals and health systems are the foundations of lasting change.”
Sister Cornety shares that commitment to building the next generation of healthcare workers. Throughout her years working in the community, she has trained and supported hundreds of community health workers through Hospital to Home.
“Knowledge acquisition is very important,” she says. “Through training, workshops and networking, if you have enough knowledge to do the work, you can do everything.”
Together, they have ensured that their knowledge and experience will continue benefiting mothers and babies long into the future. Through the health workers they have trained, mentored and inspired, their impact will continue to be felt across communities throughout Uganda for generations to come.
Care beyond the hospital
For Sister Cornety, one lesson has been clear throughout her career: a baby’s care doesn’t end when they leave hospital.Working in communities across Uganda, she witnessed the devastating consequences when vulnerable babies returned home without ongoing support and families lacked access to information about newborn care.
For many years, Sister Cornety served as the Community Midwife for Kiwoko Hospital’s Community-Based Healthcare Programme, travelling across 44 villages to provide antenatal and postnatal care to mothers and babies.
The role gave her a deep understanding of the challenges families face once they leave the health facility and the critical importance of continued support in the community.
“Previously babies were being discharged and then they used to die at home in the community due to preventable causes,” she says.
For Sister Cornety, connecting communities with health facilities has become a critical part of improving outcomes for mothers and babies. “The linkage between the health facility and the community is very, very important,” she says. “It promotes continuity of healthcare.”
Today, as the Community Midwife for Adara’s Hospital to Home programme, Cornety leads a network of community health workers who support high-risk babies and their families after discharge from the hospital. “Hospital to Home has brought hope to mothers of sick and small babies.
Together with Adara’s network of community health workers, Cornety has helped ensure vulnerable babies and their families receive the support they need during the critical months after discharge—giving more children the chance not only to survive, but to thrive.
Hopes for the future
While Uganda has made significant progress in maternal and newborn health, Sister Christine and Sister Cornety say there is still work to do to ensure every mother and baby can access quality care, regardless of where they live.
“My hope is that no mother dies while giving birth, while giving life, and no baby is lost to preventable causes. I dream of a Uganda where every woman, whether in a city or a rural village, can access skilled midwives, safe facilities and respectful care” – Sister Christine
For Sister Cornety, the future depends on continuing to strengthen healthcare workers and expanding access to quality newborn care. “I hope Uganda incorporates newborn care into the national training curriculum, so that nurses in every hospital start their careers knowing how to care for small and sick babies,” she says
Both women also hope proven approaches such as AdaraNewborn continue to expand, reaching more hospitals, health workers and communities across Uganda. “I believe eventually AdaraNewborn will be expanded across the whole of Uganda.”
Sister Christine shares that vision. “I hope AdaraNewborn is scaled across Uganda and beyond, so that survival rates above 90 per cent become the norm, not the exception.”
A legacy that lives on
Although Sister Christine and Sister Cornety are retiring from their formal roles, neither have any intention of stopping their work entirely.
“I will continue to help mothers and babies wherever I am,” Sister Cornety says with a smile. “I will stop working when I die.” For Sister Christine, the feeling is much the same. “I am retiring from Adara, but this is my lifetime calling.”
Both have received national recognition for their contributions to maternal and newborn health. In 2021, Sr Christine Otai received the Lifetime Achievement Award at Uganda’s Heroes in Healthcare Awards, while Sr Cornety was shortlisted as a finalist for Midwife of the Year. Together, they represent the extraordinary dedication, leadership and expertise that have helped transform care for mothers and newborns across Uganda.
As they step into this next chapter, we celebrate two extraordinary women whose dedication, compassion and leadership have helped transform maternal and newborn health in Uganda.
For Sister Christine, some of the most meaningful moments have come years – even decades – after a baby was born. On one occasion, she met a father whose children she had helped deliver. Proudly, he told her that one child had become a lawyer and another had gone on to pursue a successful career. Moments like these are a reminder that every safe birth has the potential to shape a lifetime.
Sister Cornety and Sister Christine’s legacy lives on in every mother who returns home safely, every baby who gets the chance to thrive, and every health worker they have mentored, trained and inspired along the way. It lives on in stronger health systems, better newborn care, and communities that are better equipped to support families during life’s most vulnerable moments.
The knowledge they have shared, the lives they have touched and the change they have helped create will continue shaping maternal and newborn health in Uganda for generations to come.
From all of us at Adara, thank you, Sister Christine and Sister Cornety for your decades of service, leadership and unwavering commitment to mothers, babies and families. Congratulations on two remarkable careers.
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