A Beautiful Legacy of Service Lives On
We were deeply saddened to learn about the recent passing of Mary Ann McCammon, a dear friend and partner to Fistula Foundation. Mary Ann was the founder and board president of Quilts for Empowerment (QFE), a nonprofit organization that sells hand-sewn quilts made by fistula survivors in Kenya.
For nearly 60 years, Mary Ann was passionately dedicated to improving the health of marginalized women around the world. In 2015, Fistula Foundation connected Mary Ann with fistula survivors from Gynocare Women’s and Fistula Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya. Soon afterward, in 2017, she established QFE as a registered nonprofit in the United States. Her goal was to teach survivors sewing skills and to help them build self-confidence while also achieving economic independence. Through QFE, fistula survivors are empowered to tell the story of their journey from suffering to treatment in each quilt that they hand-sew.
A woman experiences prolonged, obstructed labor—a precursor to fistula (left). A woman grieves the loss of her child (right).
Fistula Foundation continues to be a proud partner of QFE, and we support its work to help fistula survivors attain economic independence through the sale of their work.
We’re comforted by knowing that Mary Ann’s legacy will live on in the exceptional quilting work that she sponsored, and in the extraordinary nonprofit that she built to help women in Kenya. Her life of service sets an example for all of us to give our time and talent to a greater cause.
To learn more about Mary Ann’s impact on the world, read her obituary here.
Published on December 9, 2022