Beletshachew Tadesse is Hamlin’s Rehabilitation and Reintegration Manager. She recently wrote to us about Yeshi – one of Desta Mender’s first patients and one of the first women to benefit from Hamlin’s rehabilitation and reintegration program. You can help empower a woman like Yeshi today by making a tax-deductible donation here. ...
Sometimes the suffering and damage caused by obstetric fistula is so great that even after successful surgery, patients can’t immediately return to their homes. Instead they go to Desta Mender, a rehabilitation centre that provides a range of treatment and training. The women who go there will meet Tekiya. Today she is a staff member […]...
For women with more severe fistula injuries, Dr Catherine Hamlin’s Desta Mender, or ‘Joy Village’, offers them a kind of haven. The rehabilitation facility is a place where women can live in peace and harmony while they slowly regain their physical and mental health. “Most of them would love nothing more than […]...
Celebrating the women of Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia Today is International Women’s Day; a day to celebrate the women who inspire us and take action to support the women who need us. The time is now, for all of us, to stand up for these women’s rights and create a healthier, happier world. Dr Catherine Hamlin […]...
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 […]...
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, […]...
Every day the passionate staff at Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia welcome and treat patients who have suffered an obstetric fistula. Nothing shows the impact of our work better than the stories of these women who have had their dignity and health restored because of the support you give and the work we do to end fistula. […]...
A fortunate beginning Belaynesh was born and raised in a remote, rural village in the South of Ethiopia. A year after she was married, Belaynesh was overjoyed when she found out she was pregnant. In preparation for the arrival of their baby, Belaynesh’s husband travelled long distances to other villages to search for jobs. Towards […]...
18 years with a fistula During her first pregnancy, Beburuyosh had an obstructed labour that lasted four agonising days. Whilst 5% of women globally experience an obstructed labour, access to maternal healthcare will mean the difference between life and death. With no access to a skilled birth attendant, on the fourth day of labour Beburuyosh […]...
You have helped Asrebeb stand on her own two feet When Asrebeb arrived at Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia, she weighed just 22kg. She had been living with a fistula in a dark hut for more than six years, malnourished and in terrible pain. Asrebeb had an obstructed labour that lasted several days. Realising something was wrong; […]...
Please consider making a tax-deductible gift before June 30 to help more women like Lensse. Your gift is truly life-changing. Donate today. Lensse’s story is all too common for women living in Ethiopia, where the shame and humiliation of a fistula injury is coupled with the fear of undergoing treatment for fistula through surgery. It […]...
At Desta Mender, our residential village for long-term patients, each woman receives ongoing medical care and is empowered with the support they need to lead happy and active lives when they return home. The women here learn income-generating skills in areas such as hospitality, agriculture and handicrafts. This year, over 2,220 patients were enrolled in […]...
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