In 2017 there were so many worthy applicants for the Trudi Szallasi Memorial Scholarship that we decided to award two Scholarships.
Kyla Wright (Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada)
Kyla has a background in health, having completed a 4-year post-graduate medical program in naturopathic medicine and a certificate in Infant Mental Health Promotion. After seeking support when she had her first baby from other mothers at the NWT breastfeeding support group, she then decided to become an active member and volunteered on the Board as a director-at-large and later, as co-chair. She was part of the team that reviewed the development of a peer support training program for the NWT and is now one of the peer support training facilitators.
Being born and raised in Canada’s north, Kyla has a desire to work with the women, families and communities that compose this rich and diverse landscape. She hopes to offer specialized breastfeeding care as an IBCLC to communities within the NWT that lack this support in a way that is culturally safe and relevant.
Dr. Faten M Tamim (Amman, Jordan)
Faten M Tamim is a consultant in Maternal and Child Nutrition, got her PhD in 2017. She is a specialist in Maternal and Child Health and got her MSc in 2008. She has 20 years experience at Ministry of Health as midwife, supervisor, mentor, educator and breastfeeding trainer. She founded the first private breastfeeding clinic in Jordan in 2014, as she realized the huge gap in exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months after birth.
In 2016, she founded The Breastfeeding Support Association to raise awareness among the whole community among the Jordanian society and to be the first formal umbrella that deal with the private health care system as Ministry of Health is dealing with the governmental health care system. With the other members of the association, she works on providing breastfeeding training among the health professionals to help in supporting mothers who give birth in private hospitals.
Health e-Learning proudly supported Faten's goal by helping her study during 2017/18 and she successfully achieve certification as an IBCLC in 2018. Congratulations Faten!