Ensuring every woman has the opportunity to thrive Each and every woman who arrives at Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia is provided complete and compassionate care. Based on Dr Catherine Hamlin’s values, the Hamlin Model of Care remains a core part of the organisation today. For 61 years, Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia has provided an all-encompassing approach to […]...
Hope for her future Hamlin’s rehabilitation and reintegration program is a key part of the Hamlin Model of Care. All women undergoing treatment in a Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia hospital are assessed for their reintegration needs and have access to literacy, numeracy and vocational classes to help them once they return to their communities. One of […]...
2019 has been another positive year for Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia’s Rehabilitation and Reintegration Program. This program was founded in 2002 with the goal of helping fistula survivors reclaim their dignity and lead a fulfilling life post-treatment. The program recognises the heart-breaking truth that the treatment of a woman’s physical injuries is not the end of […]...
While many obstetric fistula sufferers can be cured with a single surgery at a Hamlin Hospital, sometimes it is not enough to heal every woman. Some women require multiple surgeries and many cannot return to their communities or live independently. That’s why in 2002 Dr Catherine Hamlin founded Desta Mender (‘Joy Village’), a recovery centre […]...
Complete and compassionate care The debilitating and often complex nature of an obstetric fistula injury requires patients to receive special and particular care by attentive medical professionals. The Hamlin Model of Care is centred on the idea of treating the patient as a whole; the fundamental respect for the patient allows Hamlin patients to rehabilitate […]...
A woman’s fistula injury is not the end of her story Donate today to help turn a woman’s life around. Sometimes surgery is not enough to heal women suffering with an obstetric fistula. Survivors have suffered real trauma. Many women cannot return to their communities and few have an income that allows them to live […]...
Rehabilitation and reintegration are key to the Hamlin Model of Care. Shamida Ethiopia is one of the warm and welcoming places which provides employment for Hamlin patients who have been treated for obstetric fistula. Reintegrating fistula patients Central to the treatment approach pioneered by Dr Catherine Hamlin is a fundamental respect for the woman and a holistic understanding of the […]...
Hope for her future Since our Rehabilitation and Reintegration Appeal in September, over 490 women have completed education programs. One of these women is Mazaa. Mazaa was just a teenager living in a remote farming village when she married a farmer and soon fell pregnant. Mazaa’s labour took place at home and lasted an excruciating […]...
It was 19 years ago when Kore suffered an obstructed labour that lasted an agonising two days, but her story is unlike many other fistula survivors. Today she is the proud mother of a beautiful 19-year-old son and runs her own small coffee business to support her family. Like many Ethiopian women, Kore gave birth […]...
Congratulations to the twelve graduates of Hamlin’s Rehabilitation and Reintegration program! These women, who are all obstetric fistula survivors, have now embarked on a new chapter of their lives as empowered women and new business owners since graduating from the 3-month program late last month. Mending more than just the physical […]...
A decade of suffering When Yitaktu’s father brought her to Hamlin’s Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, she could barely walk. Yitaktu was just a teenager when she suffered an obstetric fistula, which left her incontinent and with a severe leg injury. The obstructed labour that caused Yitaktu’s fistula lasted three days, but it caused a lifetime […]...
A dark time Yeshi was just a teenager when she suffered a severe obstetric fistula, due to an obstructed labour 20 years ago. The experience was so traumatic, she does not talk about it. What we do know is that her bladder was destroyed and the nerves in her legs damaged, leaving her with difficulty […]...
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