“I suppose nursing has always been in me. I was raised on a farm and involved in caring for the injured and sick animals, delivering baby lambs and the like, and nurses are in our family. It was natural progression,” Mavis said.
Mavis officially began her nursing career 58 years ago and is still going strong, dividing her time between her employment at Wagga Base Hospital and volunteering overseas.
Working across both metropolitan and regional hospitals in Victoria and NSW, Mavis relocated to Wagga Base Hospital in 1988 to be close to her elderly parents, and ‘to help see them safely through life and 35 years on, Mavis is still enjoying her role.
“My initial training was in the hospital setting, and was happy to also formally train at university, which began a 13 year journey of study, including a PHD.
‘Back then I worked part time and travelled 860 km per week to Wollongong, to get it all done, but it was all worth it,” Mavis tells us.
“I love being a part of the team at Wagga Base Hospital. We are family here, very close and if anything happens among us, we all rally around each other.
Mavis exclusively works night-duty and loves empowering mothers at what she feels can be a very uncertain time.
“Babies are often unsettled at night-time, and new mums are sometimes very tired and unsure. I love being able to help and offer that care.
“For me it is mothering the mothers, they need mothering sometimes,” Mavis smiles.
As a registered nurse and midwife, Mavis has made a career out of sharing her skills and knowledge with health professionals, students and patients worldwide, delivering babies all over the world, including Africa, Jamacia, Mexico, Nepal, Zambia and India, and Mother Theresa in Calcutta for dying and destitute women.
“The conditions are so different over there, with nurses working very long shifts and having limited remuneration, supplies and resources. We can forget just how lucky we are here,” Mavis reminds us.
“It is a real eye opener.
Mavis completed a PHD in 1999, focusing on factors affecting teenage pregnancy and early motherhood.
“We discovered that many teenage pregnancies involve partners who are much older, and this is a trend that is replicated worldwide,” Mavis said.
“My findings have really driven me to try and make a difference in any way that I can and demonstrates just how important it is to prioritise the education and empowerment of young women and girls,” Mavis said.
Phibian Koskei was a practicing Nutritionist in Kenya, before relocating with her husband to Australia.
The family eventually moved to Wagga in 2007 where an experience at work inspired her to upskill and study Nursing and Midwifery.
“I was working as an interpreter for emergency services, helping a woman from my home country who was unable to speak English, in late stage labour and isolated at home with a two-year-old child. I was the voice on the phone, relaying instructions from the bit by bit so her baby could be safely delivered at home.
Phibian recalls, “It was really intense because she was so vulnerable and alone, and I was the voice of reassurance to help her baby be delivered safely. I felt honoured to be there for her at such an important and special milestone in that woman’s life.
“There are many women from my country here, who need support, and I felt my skills as a nutritionist, coupled with a nursing and midwifery degree would be a unique way to help overcome the language barriers for those seeking health services at such an important time,” Phibian said.
“My knowledge in nutrition fits perfectly with nursing and midwifery, and I am able to use that every day in my practice, to help advise pregnant mothers about good nutrition.
When Phibian initially commenced employment at Wagga Base Hospital, she heard there was a midwife on the team who loved Africa and had travelled and practiced nursing in Kenya.
“From the minute I met Mavis, we connected over our love for Africa and our need to help others and of course became lifelong friends.
“We often spoke about volunteering together in Africa and then finally after COVID travel restrictions eased we decided that there was no time like the present…. and within four weeks of deciding to do it we were on the plane!’ Phibian said.
Mavis and Phibian decided to volunteer their time in the Public Health Sector in Kenya, focusing on their common interest in the education and empowerment of girls and the impact of teenage pregnancy.
“We were privileged to visit Narok and Bomet County where there is a high rate of teenage pregnancy. The majority of Narok residents are the Maasai, and well known for maintaining their traditional way of living, where women do majority of the house chores including building their traditional houses known as Manyattas, gather the food, cook, clean, look after the family, and the opportunity to attend school can often be overlooked.
“As a result there are a large number of teenage pregnancies and marriages each year, so I felt passionate about speaking to these girls about benefits of gaining an education to become independent, and helping to make a change in their lives.
“We know as health providers, that education is a powerful thing, and to educate a girl, you help to change a family, and eventually a village, and hopefully the world, Phibian said.
“There seems to be some good changes over the years, and I see more woman with qualifications, and more midwives who practice in the villages with very successful outcomes. It is extraordinary when you consider they have little to no access to medical interventions and facilities.
Back home in Wagga, Phibian and Mavis contemplate their careers over their combined 40 years of Midwifery practice.
“The number doesn’t matter to us, what matters is the care we have given and the education and opportunity we have offered to young women universally.
“We are very happy in our roles, with a supportive and approachable manager and team. I would not want to work anywhere else;” Mavis said.
“I hear good feedback every day in my work from mothers who have completed their birthing journey with us, and it brings me so much joy,” Phibian said.
“Just the other day a patient was able to relay the difference she felt in having her second child here, compared to her experience in the city. She was happy with the continuity of care, not having to keep repeating herself to a different person each time, having a familiar midwife who was able to relate to her on a more personal level.
“It is about building those relationships on a more personal level, building that trust,” Mavis said.
“No matter if it is in a volunteer role somewhere overseas, or right here at home, for us it is about being fully present to help to educate, support and empower the women who we come to know so well.
