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Our Mighty Matron

Sister Wude started her nursing career 27 years ago, driven by a passion to care for the women and children in her community. Wude completed her studies in Cuba, before working in a government hospital in her hometown of Bahir Dar, in the north of Ethiopia.

“I studied nursing to realise my life dream of helping the poorest people in my community, especially women and children, so for me nursing is not just a profession but my passion that I am enjoying each day” Wude says.

Sister Wude worked at Hamlin’s Bahir Dar Fistula Hospital for six years before moving to Ethiopia’s capital Addis Abba, where she was a teaching instructor at the Hamlin College of Midwives and later started as a nurse at Hamlin’s Addis Abba Fistula Hospital.

An Unwavering Commitment

With close to three decades of experience, Sister Wude has worked across both government and private hospitals. Her broad experience means that she is a real asset to Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia and is firmly committed to Dr Catherine Hamlin’s vision to eradicate fistula forever.

“For me Hamlin is more than a workplace it is rather the right place where I am exercising my lifetime dream of helping poor women of my country. Even after I received my postgraduate degree in a Master’s of Public Health I have made no plan to leave Hamlin and the poor women eagerly in need of my help. Hamlin has also influenced my family, my daughter is a doctor now and attending a specialisation program in obstetrics and gynecology as she was inspired by Dr Catherine” explains Wude.

From Nurse to Hospital Matron

Sister Wude’s wealth of experience working in both clinical and academic settings was recognised recently when she was promoted to Hospital Matron at Hamlin’s main hospital. As Matron, Sister Wude is the most senior nurse at the hospital. She oversees a large team of staff and is responsible for the pre-operative and post-operative care of fistula patients. Sister Wude also looks after past fistula patients who have returned to have a cesarean, as well as deciding upon the personalised care packages patients receive.

When a fistula patient arrives at a hospital she may harbor emotional scars in addition to her physical pain. Sister Wude is responsible for mending not only the physical scars of her fistula patients but also the emotional ones by implementing the Hamlin Model of Care. Sister Wude works tirelessly everyday to provide each patient with a customised program that extends beyond the initial surgery to include nutrition, physiotherapy, counseling and rehabilitation. The patient-centred approach of the Hamlin Model of Care means each woman receives holistic treatment that mends more than her physical wounds.

“Thanks to Dr Catherine, she already set the foundation for patient focused holistic care where almost all the staff has been strictly following, such fact makes my new responsibility achievable with moderate effort and I continued on exerting my utmost skills and knowledge for the success of Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia” she promised.

It is thanks to our donors like you that Sister Wude is able to perform her important work serving the women and children in her community as both an academic and as a nurse. You can make a tax-deductible donation here.

Together we will eradicate fistula. Forever.

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