Enat's Journey

Throughout her 60 years in Ethiopia, Dr Catherine Hamlin has changed the lives of over 60,000 women; Enat’s story is just one of them.

Life before fistula

In Northern Ethiopia the jagged rockface of the mountains cuts into the endless sky. Here, nestled in the mountains is the remote village that Enat calls home.

Growing up, going to school was never an option for Enat; instead she worked as a shepherd to support her family’s income. When she was 17, Enat was married off to a farmer and fell pregnant two years later.

“I was so excited by my marriage because this is the life goal that all young girls in my village want to achieve,” Enat recalls.

The isolation of fistula

Her joy was short-lived: Enat suffered a complicated obstructed labour. Without any trained health officials attending her birth, and with the closest health services in a village one hour away, Enat’s condition deteriorated. Over 70% of births in rural Ethiopia occur without a medical attendant present.

Enat eventually travelled to the closest government hospital where, after two more agonising days of labour, she gave birth to a stillborn baby. She was devastated and grieving the loss of her child. Furthermore, she was left with internal injuries and she was incontinent of urine.

“At least I have survived after a life-threatening labour; but I lost my first baby and faced such a traumatic injury. It was hard for the entire family,” says Enat.

Enat and her family thought the incontinence that she suffered was a short-term consequence of her difficult labour and would stop as she recovered from her labour. It didn’t. Enat suffered incontinence for almost five years as a result of her obstetric fistula.

Her injury was far more than physical, as she remembers: “those five years with the problem were full of agony; I got divorced and feared socialising with others. I spent all day, everyday, lonely and in isolation. The whole family felt a deep sadness.”

Dignity restored

Just one year ago, Enat learned about Catherine and the services provided at the Bahir Dar Fistula Hospital. The hospital at Bahir Dar is one of five regional outreach hospitals supported by Catherine and her team. Since 1959, Catherine and Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia have established six hospitals and over 50 Hamlin-supported midwifery clinics. Abandoned by her husband, and with a family too poor to help her for transportation costs, it took many months for Enat to collect enough money for the bus fare to the hospital.

At the hospital, she received holistic treatment by the Hamlin team and was able to have her fistula treated after five years of suffering. Thankfully, her initial surgery was a success. Her treatment was free, thanks to generous Hamlin supporters around the world.

Enat is now dry and her dignity has been restored. For Enat, her recovery means more than just being able to socialise with others, it has a profound impact on the way she views herself and life: “After the cure the first thing I did was stand and prayed. Hamlin have made the impossible possible and allow me to live life to the full. Thank you for your generosity.”