The story of AHOME is rooted in a deeply personal tragedy, one that reflects the silent crisis of women’s health in Sub-Saharan Africa.
At the age of 31, my mother went through a poorly monitored delivery. She lost both her baby and her uterus, narrowly escaping death thanks to the swift intervention of my father, who was then a senior nurse. This tragedy was doubly painful. After this physical and emotional loss, she was “discharged” without any real follow-up care. She faced a premature and difficult menopause on her own; a silence that took a heavy toll on my sister and me: as we grew up with no education in Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH).
I came to understand that our story was not an isolated one, but that of thousands of women in Togo, my host country, and in Cameroon, my homeland.
Our Revelation
The vulnerability of women is systemic. It begins with the risks of pregnancy, continues with the lack of psychosocial support, and is passed down through silence from one generation to the next. Faced with this reality, I chose to transform pain into purpose: to become a voice for the voiceless and to make Sexual and Reproductive Health a cornerstone of women’s empowerment and community development.
Our Ultimate Vision: The Establishment of “Maman AHOME Houses”
Today, AHOME reaches out to women in the most remote communities, engaging husbands and community leaders in the process. But our ambition goes further: to create ‘maman AHOME Houses’ true Oases of Peace, where women can gather, speak without judgment, and receive continuous medical, psychosocial, emotional, and educational support.
These houses will help build healthier, more fulfilled families, reduce maternal and infant morbidity and mortality, and firmly place women’s health at the heart of community development.
AHOME stands as living proof that intimate pain can be transformed into a collective movement of life, unity, and hope.
Dr. C. Ingrid KENGNE TEGUE (Mrs. HOUNOU-ADOSSI)
Your Motherly Gynecologist.