In episode four, Dr. Uzo is joined by Maria Ramos Bracamontes, a Mexican Indigenous Certified Nurse Midwife, Addiction Nurse and culture keeper. Uzo was first introduced to the cerrada de caderas ceremony through Maria, and in this episode you'll get to hear all about how they met, and the reverence Uzo shares for Maria's wisdom, vision & transmutation of challenge into deep medicine.

ABOUT MARIA
María Ascensión Ramos Bracamontes is a Mexican Indigenous Certified Nurse Midwife & Addiction Nurse Practitioner in Kalendaruk territory, Watsonville, California. She was born at home in Coca territory, in a rural rancho called Ayotitlán, Jalisco, México and raised between the coastal Awaswas speaking territory that used to be called Aulinta, now known as Santa Cruz, California, and México. Formerly undocumented running in the streets of the Beach Flats, she is the daughter of campesin@s and day laborers & sister to gangsters, coyotes, and drug dealers. She comes from an uninterrupted lineage of birthkeepers and homebirth. She is the mother of three people, the last two were born gently at home in the water.

Being a new pregnant midwife during the pandemic serving undocumented Indigenous farmworker wombyn inspired her to start a mutual aid project called Campesina Womb Justice with the purpose of bringing honor, healing, justice, & land back to Indigenous campesinas.

CONNECT
Maria on IG @ComoTeAmoMidwifery & @CampesinaWombJustice
Support Campesina Womb Justice: GoFundMe

If you are interested in sharing your story on the Communal Healing podcast, please visit wellnesspromoters.net/communal-healing.

In this episode, Victoria Wanjiro, a birth worker, doula, healer, womb wellness practitioner, early childhood education specialist, and community activist discusses retiring from teaching at and moving from California to Ghana. We delve into her deep commitment to cultural arts, the significance of nurturing our children, and the powerful impact of her work as a birth worker and holistic wellness practitioner. Join us for a rich conversation about the intersections of wellness, education, and cultural identity.

Victorious Wanjiro is a wholistic educator & trans-national movement builder that uses education and wholistic healing to repair, heal & transcend the harmful effects of capitalism, colonization & hegemony. She is most notably known for curating and connecting programs that integrate scholarship, activism and wholistic healing throughout the Bay Area, Los Angeles and Ghana, West Africa. 

Learn more & connect with Victorious Wanjiro: califaconsulting.com & theuniversalfamilynetwork.org


If you are interested in sharing your story on the Communal Healing podcast, please visit wellnesspromoters.net/communal-healing.

In episode two, Dr. Uzo is joined by Dr. Paulina Van, a U.S.-based professor of nursing, researcher, artist, author, mentor, and descendant of Central American healers. Uzo and Paulina discuss the role of art in healing as Black women who are also nurses, immigrants, academics, and healers. They share personal stories from their lives and experiences with self-realization, self-care, and navigating the academic system.

DR. PAULINA VAN
Paulina Van, PhD, RN, CNE is an immigrant from Central America and a descendant ofgenerations of healers. She earned a BSN from the University of San Francisco and graduatedegrees (MS and Ph.D.) from the University of California, San Francisco. She is a Full Professor and researcher at Samuel Merritt University, College of Nursing in Oakland, California. Dr. Van is an international speaker recognized for her coping, healing, and stress management work. She holds related certifications as a Reiki Master, HeartMath® Certified Trainer, Healing Circles Leader, and a Caritas® Coach. Dr. Van’s scientific publications address perinatal grief, healing, coping, and reflective practices; impact on student learning. Her first book, “Regala Healing”®, was released in September 2021. It is a poetic, sacred work that immerged during her commitment to increasing self-care, self-love, and self-compassion in her life. She hosts a live, biweekly program on BlackDoctor.org. The topics focus on meditation, mindfulness, and healing prose from her book, “Regala Healing”.

Dr. Van’s book of poetry, Regala Healing, offers 100 healing narratives straight from her heartand rooted in unspoken life experiences. The poems are all about self-realization, self-care, and, ultimately, self-love. Dr. Van trusts that sharing herself with unabated transparency maypotentiate your healing as it has hers. Although these poems are rooted in her experiences, they might also call forth your feelings and truths. You, too, can open yourself to the internalconversation these poems might spark! The Regala Healing book is available for purchase onAmazon and regalahealing.com and at the following libraries, DePaul University, Samuel MerrittUniversity, Mechanics Institute (SF), and African American Museum and Library at Oakland.

Learn more & connect with Dr. Van: https://www.regalahealing.com/

If you are interested in sharing your story on the Communal Healing podcast, please visit wellnesspromoters.net/communal-healing.

In episode one, Dr. Uzo is joined by Kunle Adewale, UK-based Nigerian Multimedia Artist, Educator, Curator, Cultural Producer, Mental Health Advocate, and Arts in Health Practitioner. Uzo & Kunle discuss the role of art in healing, sharing personal stories from their lives and experiences in global health.

KUNLE ADEWALE
Kunle Adewale is a UK-based Nigerian Multimedia Artist, Educator, Curator, Cultural Producer, Mental Health Advocate, and Arts in Health Practitioner. He received his bachelor’s degree in painting and art history from Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Kunle is the Global Development Lead and Curator of the Global South Arts and Health Week.
Kunle Adewale is the founder and executive director of the Global Arts in Medicine Fellowship, which has facilitated arts in health learning and interdisciplinary collaboration for over 1000 students and professionals from over 60 nations worldwide. Since its inception, his organization has helped over 50,000 people, including patients, carers, family members, and community members.
Kunle’s humanitarian art activities have benefited children, adolescents, and youths suffering from cancer, sickle cell anaemia, disabilities, mental illnesses, and older adults with dementia, as well as prison inmates and survivors of terrorist attacks in Nigeria. His art programs and global initiatives have been featured in international media, including the Voice of America in Washington, DC, France 24, Welt Spiegel, Aljazeera, Reuters, BBC Africa, The Guardian UK, CBC Canada, Europawok, Taiwan Plus TV, TV5 Monde France, VD News Germany, EAC News Cambodia, Global Business Outlook, TRT World, DW Deutsche Welle News Germany, ARTE.TV France, The Lancet Child, and Adolescent Health Journal are a few.
Kunle Adewale is a recipient of international honours, awards, and Fellowship. This includes the Atlantic Fellow for Brain Health Equity, Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco. Kunle Adewale is honoured by Cincinnati Mayor John Carnley, who proclaimed August 2nd as Kunle Adewale Day in the City with an Honorary Award for his Contribution to Arts in Medicine Initiatives in Nigeria, the United States and other countries across the globe. He is a recipient of the Mandela Washington Fellowship program of President Barack Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative. He was nominated for the Global Teacher Prize by the Varkey Foundation, United Kingdom, in 2014 and 2016.
Kunle was endorsed as a Global Talent Exceptional Leader by the Arts Council of England in 2022. He is a member of the WHO Arts Practice and Ethics of Care project’s cohort. In 2023, Kunle Adewale was appointed to a Steering Committee of the WHO-Jameel Arts & Health Lab in New York.

If you are interested in sharing your story on the Communal Healing podcast, please visit wellnesspromoters.net/communal-healing.

Learn more & connect with Mr. Adewale at kunleadewale.com.

Welcome to the Communal Healing Podcast for Healthcare Workers with Dr. Uzo Nwankpa! Tune in to this pilot episode to learn about the inspiration for this series and get a sense of the experiences and guests you'll meet along the way.

Call for Storytelling: A Space for Healthcare Providers' Voices
In the wake of the pandemic, many of us witnessed or felt firsthand the profound inequities that exist within our healthcare system, particularly for our BIPOC colleagues. We've all held onto stories—moments of challenge, resilience, or revelation—that have shaped our journey in this field.
If you've faced burnout, braved the storm during the pandemic's peak, or grappled with the unique challenges as a BIPOC healthcare worker, we're opening up a platform for you. This isn't just about highlighting systemic flaws; it's about understanding our collective experience, healing through shared narratives, and forging deeper connections in our community.
We understand that these memories might be raw or close to the heart, but if you're willing, we'd be honored to hear your story. Let's weave together a tapestry of real experiences that can foster understanding, connection, and hope.

To submit your story, please visit wellnesspromoters.net/communal-healing.