From Global Educator to Full Spectrum
Birth Companion
Mkaribishaji wa Maisha —The One Who Welcomes Life
The word doula, often used to describe this work, comes from the Greek word for “female slave.” Though commonly understood in today’s world, the term carries a history that does not reflect the sacred nature of birthwork. In place of that word, this role is better described as Mkaribishaji wa Maisha — a Swahili phrase meaning the one who welcomes life. This title speaks to the heart of the calling: to gently accompany families as they bring new life into the world, with care, reverence, and strength. To welcome life is to honor the family’s power, to help hold space in moments of intensity, and to trust in the wisdom of the body and spirit.
Mkaribishaji wa Maisha is more than a title, it is a return to cultural memory, to dignity, and to the sacredness of life’s beginning.
Meet Our Team
Yajaira De La Espada
Since 2012, Yajaira De La Espada has worked as an educator across diverse communities, using storytelling as a vessel for cultural restoration and liberatory learning. In 2024, she expanded her commitment to transformative narratives through film, making her directorial debut with Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense, a documentary interrogating education, identity, and independence in Tanzania. That same spirit of cultural care and advocacy now shapes her work as a full-spectrum doula. Rooted in ancestral wisdom and holistic practices, Yajaira walks alongside women through every stage of their reproductive journey, honoring each birth as a sacred story in motion.
