SIM, in partnership with the Worldwide Fistula Fund (WFF) and The Leprosy Mission (TLM), has received permission to open a Vesicovaginal Fistula (VVF) Center in Danja, Niger. Yes, this is the center we asked you to pray for in November of 2008. Thank you for faithfully praying—the plans for this Center are becoming a reality, and we praise God!

Much like its sister center in Nigeria, Evangel Hospital VVF, the Danja Center will be a place of refuge and healing for young women who have been ostracized in their communities because of the symptoms and the stigma that come with a vesicovaginal fistula.

Birth injuries are the most common cause of VVF, often stemming from giving young girls in marriage before their bodies are mature enough to give birth. Many of these young women give birth in village huts, far from medical help. When a baby gets stuck in the birth canal, a fistula will often occur between the birth canal and bladder or rectum. This causes a constant leakage of urine and/or feces, and surgery is the only solution.

The Danja Fistula Surgery and Training Center is being constructed adjacent to SIM's Danja Health and Leprosy Center, Centre de Santé et de Leprologie (CSL). The CSL has been in operation since 1956, and has a good reputation in the community. The proximity will also be a benefit as CSL Danja already has innovative programs in place for rehabilitation and social reintegration that can easily be transferred to the needs of the new fistula patients.

Read a New York Times article about this new fistula center New Life for the Pariahs, by Nicholas Kristof.

Pray

• That this Center would be a place of healing and hope to the women who will come, and that many will come to know Jesus while they are there.
• For the new building to be constructed safely and in a timely manner.
• For the doctors and nurses who have committed themselves to helping these women.

Give

The cost for a fistula surgery, for a woman to have a normal life again, is $450—that's it. Will you consider making a donation? You could even ask some family members or friends, or your home group or Sunday school class, if they would like to give with you ... to help these women live a better tomorrow.

Any amount that you are willing to give will be used to transform these women's lives. Simply designate your gift to the Danja Fistula Center (#97516). Thank you for your generosity.

Go

Check out opportunities to serve in Niger in health related positions.