Growing up in a mud hut in South Sudan, Vina watched women in her village die during childbirth because basic medical care was out of reach. She decided that she would become a nurse. Her mother, who never attended school, worked day and night to keep Vina in primary school while also caring for six younger children.

Vina attended St. Bakhita Girls’ Primary School and later received MBB scholarships for secondary and nursing school. MBB’s counseling, tutoring, home visits, leadership training, and case management helped her continue through civil war, the bombing of her primary school, and the deaths of two nursing classmates at the hands of armed rebels.

Today, Vina is a qualified nurse at a rural clinic, where she sees as many as 100 patients a day. During the rainy season, she walks three hours to reach the clinic. Through treatment and daily health education, she has seen preventable deaths decline in her community.