Mirembe was only a teenager when she found herself pregnant with her first child in rural Uganda. Virtually a newlywed and with little in common with her husband’s family, Mirembe kept to herself and spent a lonely nine months looking forward to the birth of her baby. Eventually Mirembe went into labour. After an agonising […]...
“There is no doubt in my mind that Catherine Hamlin’s ambition to eradicate fistula will one day be a reality.” – Nadia I had never even thought of going to Ethiopia before, despite having travelled quite extensively. Yet as soon as I saw the ad for the Hamlin Ethiopian Adventure pop up on the Hamlin Facebook […]...
Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation In honour of Dr Catherine Hamlin’s ongoing, inspirational work, Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia (Australia) has updated its name to the Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation. Dr Catherine Hamlin had an extraordinary year in 2017. She was named 2018 NSW Senior Australian of the Year. She now progresses to the National Australia Day awards, to […]...
Fetenech has a smile that beams. The 28-year-old has her own coffee house, which has prospered since she started it three years ago. “I am born again and want to focus on my bright future ahead,” she says. But her future wasn’t always so bright. In her teens, Fetenech had complications giving birth. She suffered […]...
The work of HFE has been an inspiration to me since I was a girl, and my first overseas trip was to the hospital in Addis Ababa in 1982 – when I was a medical student. My career was influenced by the work of my aunt Catherine Hamlin and I research maternal health in low […]...
Hamlin strives to give every woman the dignity and fullness of life they deserve. In some cases an operation to fix a fistula is very straight forward. In other cases, such as in the case of 34-year-old Beburuyosh it can take a lot longer. After suffering 4 days of obstructed labour during her first pregnancy, […]...
An obstetric fistula can often be repaired with just a single operation. An operation that can take little more than 60 minutes. Sometimes the recovery is very quick, sometimes in more severe cases it takes longer. However in all cases it is life-changing. “I used to think of committing suicide, now I want to live,” […]...
For Australian women, it is almost unimaginable to give birth alone, with no hospital, no medical clinic or even no midwife. It would be both frightening and dangerous. Yet in Ethiopia today an estimated 85% of women give birth without any medical help. As a result, every day in Ethiopia, ten women develop an obstetric […]...
“I felt so proud to share with the group the incredible work of the Hamlin prevention pillar. Our midwives, staff and students are passionate and world class.” – Emily A vision realised When Catherine and Reg first arrived in Ethiopia in 1959, their plan was to set up a midwifery school in Addis Ababa. But, […]...
Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia (Australia) exists to ensure that the talented and hardworking team in Ethiopia can continue their mission, inspired by Reg and Catherine Hamlin, to eradicate obstetric fistula forever. Our Australian supporters play a critical role and we are enormously grateful for your support once again this year. I am fortunate enough to be […]...
Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation We are so pleased to announce that in January 2018, in honour of Dr Catherine Hamlin’s ongoing, inspirational work, we are updating our name to the Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation. Dr Catherine Hamlin has had an extraordinary year. She was named NSW Senior Australian of the Year for 2018. She now […]...
The Hamlin College of Midwives Dr Catherine Hamlin has worked for almost 60 years to eradicate obstetric fistula in Ethiopia. Catherine founded Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital and five other regional fistula hospitals across Ethiopia and in 2007 she established the Hamlin College of Midwives. In the ten years since first opening its […]...
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