By Kristi Eaton, Fistula Foundation Writer in Residence
I’ve long been passionate about covering the issues facing women and girls. As a journalist and communications specialist, I’ve written about menstrual hygiene and child marriage in India, birth registration in Indonesia and women in prison in the U.S.
So when the opportunity came up to document the work of the Fistula Foundation in Zambia, I jumped at the chance to learn more about this devastating injury.
One statistic stood out to me: 1 million women are waiting for treatment.
The Fistula Foundation is making inroads on that number. During the last year in Zambia, the foundation helped more than 230 women become dry. This might seem like a small percentage, but for the women getting healed, it is life-changing.
Take Doris, for instance. She’s one of the women I met during surgical outreach at Chilonga Mission Hospital in Mpika. Doris lived with fistula for more than 20 years, her husband abandoned her and she, like many sufferers, isolated herself. She was unable to sit with family and friends because of the smell.
Now she has a new opportunity at life, one not determined by leaking urine. She told me that she doesn’t know if she should dance or sing she’s so excited about the new opportunities the surgery affords her.
The women at the surgical outreach are some of the bravest women I’ve met. Facing a devastating injury and then a surgery to repair it, they remained upbeat, tellling stories to each other, braiding one another’s hair, taking care of their children and singing.
Asked if they were OK with their picture being taken, they replied, “Yes, we want people to see how we’ve suffered.”
Each of the women receiving treatment from @Fistula_Fdtn receives a package that contains soap, toilet paper, toothbrush and toothpaste, pads and panties. Smiles were on their faces as they received the packages. pic.twitter.com/LyzeBro0rJ
— Kristi Eaton (@KristiEaton) October 1, 2018
Later, I headed to the remote district of Mafinga in Muchinga Province. The only way to get to Mafinga is to take a bumpy dirt road. It’s located about six and a half hours from Chilonga, the nearest treatment hospital. There’s no electricity nor piped water in Mafinga. The villages also lie far away from each other, making community mobilization and outreach difficult for the program officer and Community Health Volunteers. Still, they are overcoming the obstacles and educating the public about obstetric fistula.
The Community Health Volunteers have been given bicycles to cover greater distances, but it’s still not enough to reach some of the most remotest of areas.
I attended two community outreach meetings and both were well-attended. Community members opened up the event with dancing and singing. Then Community Health Volunteers explained what fistula is, how it develops and how the Fistula Foundation is able to help treat women. The floor was then opened for questions before a drama performance took place, which, again, showcased the effects of fistula and what the foundation can do for treatment.
Fistula Foundation (@Fistula_Fdtn) Community Health Volunteer Rosemary shows off a song she learned during training. #fightingfistula #zambia pic.twitter.com/Dy0Lu8UHlt
— Kristi Eaton (@KristiEaton) October 2, 2018
The villages were very welcoming to us – one even cooked us a lunchtime meal – and eager to learn about the condition and mobilize the community.
We also met with survivors of fistula who utilized the Fistula Foundation’s program to seek help. They were all immensely grateful to the program staff, hugging and thanking them. Husbands and mothers even came out to show their appreciation.
So far, the trip has been very enlightening and I’ve learned a lot about the foundation’s work. I’ll continue to document the work I see throughout Zambia. Please consider following me on Twitter or Instagram to see my latests posts from the road!
Published on: Oct 10, 2018