The Meaning Behind Our Name

How we weave it all together

Life is not built in isolation.
It is woven.

Midwives hold space for mothers.
Mothers knit life into their children.
Children grow within families.
Families strengthen communities.
And communities, when rooted in care, hold mothers in return.

Tejiendo Vida — Knitting Life — is both our name and our philosophy.

By strengthening each thread — education, care, dignity, and knowledge — we help restore the fabric of maternal health in Venezuela. One woman, one birth, one community at a time.

The Story Behind Tejiendo Vida

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In 1935, my great-grandmother Josefina died from a postpartum hemorrhage in Caracas, Venezuela, leaving my grandfather—then only 18 months old—without a mother to love & raise him. In 1995, also in Caracas, my mother lost her baby, as a result of failures in what should be standard clinical care.

Growing up, my grandfather’s and my mother’s stories of courage—and quiet pain—stayed with me. But it wasn’t until I became a mother myself that I began to fully understand the depth of those losses, and the lifelong impact of losing a mother or baby at birth.

Josefina Ibarra Casanova de Betancourt

Stories like theirs should belong to the past. They should be unthinkable in 2026. Yet in Venezuela, mothers and babies continue to lose their lives from preventable complications due to lack of access to quality care and weakened health systems.

Proven, evidence-based solutions to improve maternal health already exist. Global research has demonstrated that midwives can prevent up to 83% of maternal deaths (WHO) and 64% of neonatal deaths (WHO). By building strong frameworks, forging partnerships, and working collaboratively toward a shared goal, we can create meaningful and lasting change in the lives of women, children, and families.

Mothers in Venezuela have endured years of needless suffering. This work exists for and because of them — grounded in respect, focused on long-term impact, and committed to sustainable solutions that ensure no mother or baby is forgotten.

Sincerely,

Victoria Carolina Ramírez Betancourt

Founder & Executive Director Tejiendo Vida Venezuela