Of lifesaving liquid gold
“Having been in need before, when I saw the call for breast milk which I have in plenty, I decided to give back because I have been in need before and I know what it feels like,”
ATTA Breast Milk Community garners breast milk donors.
Philanthropy is limitless! Its forms, its channels and motivation are as vast as the needs that surround individuals and communities. We’ve often defined philanthropy as giving of one’s time, talent and treasure. This time, we dwell on giving of treasure because that is what ATTA Breast Milk Community is all about.
ATTA Breast Milk Community is a milk-sharing network that encourages the donation of safe human milk to infants who are unable to access optimal nutrition from their mothers. ATTA stands for Alyssa Marie Taha and Tracy Ahumuza, the combined initials of a daughter and her mother respectively. Tracy Ahumuza birthed the milk donating idea in the wake of the loss of her daughter, Alyssa. Alyssa was born at 39 weeks requiring an operation at birth. Tracy, who had prior to this received no information that post-operative nutrition could only be breast milk, struggled to produce the milk that the baby needed post-surgery. She was left with one option; a human milk donor. Her sister-in-law who had a one-month-old baby at the time was able to donate the much-needed milk. Unfortunately, Alyssa did not make it. Tracy was finally able to produce breast milk but unable to donate it due to the requirement to drive to hospital, test and donate on an ad hoc basis due to the absence of a milk storage facility. She was also recovering from a C-Section at the time. It was then that she birthed the idea of the ATTA Breast Milk Community in memory of her first child Alyssa.
The community is up and running due to the generosity of new mothers that are happy to share their milk with newborns whose mothers are indisposed, unable to produce enough milk or any at all.
In July 2021, Atta Breast Milk Community shared the story of their first ever human breast milk donor whose milk was able to feed a set of premature quadruplets back to health. After about four weeks on the milk, they each weighed just over 2 kilograms and were feeding well. Asked what motivated her to donate her milk, Asher Faikah shared her story of a difficult birth that required a blood donation to save her life. She had posted her need on her WhatsApp status and a mutual friend agreed to donate blood which saved her life.
“Having been in need before, when I saw the call for breast milk which I have in plenty, I decided to give back because I have been in need before and I know what it feels like,” Asher added.
Several mothers have since joined the cause and shared their newborns’ milk, a resource that has earned the name liquid gold because of how precious and lifesaving it is for newborns and how relieving it is for mothers that unable to provide it. More to that, ATTA Breastmilk Community is raising awareness about breastfeeding and shining a spotlight on the women that donate the liquid gold.
Mothers that would like to donate their milk and givers that are passionate about supporting the cause can find more information on how to do so here: