11 Women, 11 Surgeries, 11 Lives Transformed

by Bert & Elaine Haaga
7 March 2011

The Worldwide Fistula Fund surgical team visited for two weeks in November. The team of doctors from the USA, Canada, UK, and Australia performed 11 surgeries bringing the total number of women healed to 34! The women are so grateful and thrilled. When they come out of the anesthesia after surgery, they just beam with joy.

Several former patients came to visit the surgical team and be with the women who would receive surgery for the first time. The team worked with one of them to demonstrate what would happen before their surgery. Each day while the team operated on one woman; the former patients would come and gather her clothes and sheets to wash so she would have clean, dry linens and clothes when she returned from surgery. We were touched by their love because usually only a close family member would give such care.

Each day during the 2 weeks, our chaplain and staff shared the Gospel with the women. Most had never heard about Jesus clearly. They loved hearing the Bible stories that the women’s chaplain, Hannatou, read and would ask her to keep reading and not go home in the afternoons. Since their surgeries, several from nearby villages have stopped by to visit Hannatou. Some have even attended the Sunday worship services.

At the end of the team’s visit we held a “Dress Ceremony”. Each patient received a new outfit made of the same cloth. That is a custom here to have a “uniform” for a wedding or celebration. The new dress signifies their new life. The 11 women were so happy and thrilled that they danced, singing about how the doctor and nurses had blessed them.

Once again our friends at Columbia Evangelical in the United States sent gifts for the women—bath sponges, toothbrushes, and pretty cards. We added soap and the women were touched that other women so far away cared for them and desired to help.

Our thanks to all of you that partner with SIM and specifically with the Danja Fistula Surgery and Training Center. We couldn’t do it without you! Please visit our Danja Fistula Center page to view updates on the new construction and imminent opening.

What is a fistula?
Fistula is an internal injury that occurs during difficult or obstructed labor when a woman doesn't have access to proper medical care. Fistula has devastating effects on a woman's physical, psychological and emotional health. The vaginal injury hinders a woman's ability to "hold" her urine or feces. Instead, her waste leaks and flows out freely. Terrified, ashamed and often grieving the loss of a stillborn child, fistula sufferers are cast out of their marriages and homes. They are unable to work, socialize or even feed themselves. As one might expect, this condition is so devastating that it can lead to severe depression and even suicide. Even worse? Fistula and its horrible aftermath often strike the youngest mothers—ages 12, 13, or 14—whose pelvises are not large enough to pass their babies through.

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