On the International Day to Eradicate Obstetric Fistula, and every day, the Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation remains determined to build a fistula-free world for every woman....
Zigiju had an active childhood looking after her family’s livestock. Raised in an isolated rural village in the Amhara region of Ethiopia, Zigiju would walk for kilometres to the nearest river to bring water back to her family. She never could have imagined that as an adult, obstetric fistula, a preventable childbirth injury, would confine […]...
Fistula stole Mulu’s joy, confidence, and relationships for 17 years. Thanks to a diversion surgery at Hamlin, she is regaining her health, happiness, and sense of self....
An obstetric fistula injury nearly cost Zemzem her life. For over a decade, she felt ashamed and alone – until she underwent treatment at Hamlin’s Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital. Rural and remote: Zemzem’s life before fistula Zemzem’s village is nestled in the mountains of the Amhara region in northern Ethiopia. To access basic services – […]...
Five days. For five perilous days, Almaz endured an obstructed labour in her small Ethiopian village without a midwife. Without appropriate medical care, Almaz’s condition seriously deteriorated, and led to her suffering an obstetric fistula injury. The devastating impact of those five days without a midwife would be felt for ten long years. A life […]...
Imagine discovering that you are pregnant with your second child: the anticipation as you and your loved ones prepare to welcome a new addition to your family. Imagine waiting for days in excruciating pain as you suffer an obstructed labour without the help of a midwife. Imagine travelling, almost unconscious, on a homemade stretcher for […]...
Obstetric fistula took a year from Tarekech’s life. For months, Tarekech’s childbirth injury caused her to feel ashamed and worried about the state of her bed sheets and clothes. Thanks to the work of Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia’s Clinical Team, Tarekech is now dry and ready to start a new chapter of her life at the […]...
The tragedy of obstetric fistula One of the worst things that can happen to a woman or girl is an obstetric fistula, an internal injury caused by an obstructed labour during childbirth that leaves her incontinent and shunned by her community. The physical consequences of this childbirth injury are debilitating. The hole between the birth […]...
Growing up in a rural village in southwestern Ethiopia, Kuma did not have access to quality maternal health care. As a result, she experienced an obstructed labour at home that resulted in her suffering obstetric fistula injuries. Kuma suffered with fistula for over ten years before she was identified and given life-changing treatment at Hamlin’s […]...
Zinash’s story transformed from struggle to joy through the extraordinary care and love of the staff at Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia. For Zinash, being referred to a Hamlin fistula hospital was life changing, and the care she received would end her suffering from fistula once and for all. Living in a small rural town in southern […]...
Saliati grew up in a remote village, where misconceptions about medical care had made the community wary of maternal health services. As a result, she endured an obstructed labour without help and needlessly suffered from a debilitating obstetric fistula injury. For seven long years, Saliati was hidden from her community, until she was found by […]...
Genet’s world was shattered when she suffered an obstetric fistula injury. Near the remote village of Konta Koysha in southern Ethiopia, Genet spent five long months in agony, leaking urine, abandoned by her husband and isolated from her friends and neighbours. Over the course of three short weeks at Hamlin’s Yirgalem Fistula Hospital, Genet’s world […]...
