How it started
Quilts for Empowerment (QFE) is a nonprofit organization that empowers impoverished women and girls in Kenya to be economically independent. The women QFE helps are fistula survivors and/or those who have experienced gender-based violence. In 2019, Fistula Foundation began collaborating with QFE on a project to inform the everyday person about life with obstetric fistula via a traveling quilt exhibit entitled “Let Me Tell You About Fistula.”
Watch the video to learn how it all began.
What it is
“Let Me Tell You About Fistula” is an eight-panel traveling quilt exhibit that shares the story of a woman’s life before, during, and after obstetric fistula. Each panel measures 24” wide by 30” long, and comes with its own small plaque to describe what is happening in the depicted scene.
Most people in the United States and other developed nations have never heard of obstetric fistula, because it mostly affects impoverished women living in rural areas of Africa and Asia. Raising awareness about this issue ensures that Fistula Foundation can help more women access life-transforming treatment and QFE can help women achieve economic independence post-repair.
The seven panels that make up the “Let Me Tell You About Fistula” quilt exhibit detail the seven phases of a woman’s life with fistula. An eighth panel (not shown) provides an overview of the project.
Why we need your help
Where it has been shown, in Oregon, the exhibit has generated lots of interest and foot traffic, with more than 400 people observing the panels in the summer of 2022. With the passing of QFE’s founder, Mary Ann McCammon, in November 2022, the expansion of the exhibit into new venues was put on hold. Now, QFE is looking for volunteers to organize, host, and manage the traveling exhibit.
What it entails:
- Finding a venue,
- Making logistical arrangements,
- Transporting the panels to/from the venue,
- Marketing the exhibit, and
- Setting up and storing the exhibit
Things to consider:
Here are some tips from QFE about managing and organizing the exhibit.
1.) Security should be considered when placing the exhibit in venues, especially in areas with high foot traffic.
2.) The exhibit is best received and appreciated when placed in venues associated with either Africa and/or women’s health issues. High foot traffic area in those venues is the most desirable. For example: The latest venue was the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) Library, which has very high foot traffic. OHSU is a large, public research institution with top ranking health programs. The exhibit was such a success at OHSU that staff at the university asked to extend the showing from three to four months.
3.) It’s good to have someone on hand who can speak to the exhibit and answer questions. This printable brochure provides a primer on fistula, relays information about QFE, and details the story unique to each panel of the exhibit.