International Day of Friendship

The International Day of Friendship – or World Friends Day – was declared in 2011 by the UN General Assembly and is celebrated on 30 July every year.

The World Friendship Crusade lobbied the UN for several years to recognise this day to promote friendship and fellowship among all human beings, regardless of race, colour or religion, to inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities.

Celebrating Bonds Across Borders

The theme for International Friendship Day 2024 is Celebrating Bonds Across Borders.

Our world faces many challenges and crises such as poverty, violence, and human rights abuses among many others that undermine peace, security, development and social harmony among the world’s peoples.

To confront these issues, we must address their root causes by promoting and defending a shared spirit of human solidarity that takes many forms — the simplest of which is friendship.

Friendship is key to a woman’s recovery from obstetric fistula

A woman who suffers from obstetric fistula injuries often hides away in shame and isolation for fear of being shunned by her husband, community and family.

Rejected by everyone she knows and deprived of the love and inclusion that makes her feel like a valued member of society, she is left alone to fend for herself. She does not know there is a cure and believes she is the only woman suffering from this debilitating condition.

“Mourning the stillbirth of their only child, incontinent of urine, ashamed of their offensiveness, often spurned by their husbands, homeless, unemployable except in the fields, they endure, they exist, without friends and without hope. They bear their sorrows in silent shame. Their miseries, untreated are utter, lonely and lifelong.” – Dr Reg Hamlin

When a woman like Meseret arrives at a Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia hospital for treatment, she is warmly welcomed by staff and patients alike. Here, she is no longer alone and begins to make strong connections with other women who have suffered a similar fate.

After living in social isolation for many years, simply enjoying the company of other women is a simple yet incredibly powerful way to heal through connection and hope. 

Treating the whole woman

Dr Catherine Hamlin believed in treating the whole patient, not just the injury. She treated every patient with love and respect to heal them emotionally, psychologically and physically.

“The patients have a social life together. We see them talking and once they start to gossip with each other and find a group that speaks their own language, they feel at home, they feel they’re not being ostracised from their society. They’re loved and they feel welcome. So this is where the healing process starts, of the mind, and this is very important.” – Dr Catherine Hamlin

After receiving life-changing treatment, many women have mixed feelings about returning to their communities. They are happy to be cured and able to return to their loved ones but sad to leave behind the new friends they have made at the hospital.

Click here to make a donation to support another woman like Meseret who is suffering with obstetric fistula.