Welcome to the Summer edition of Emaye
Welcome and thank you for picking up this issue of Emaye which brings you all the latest news and updates from Ethiopia.
Earlier this year, our CEO Helen and I visited Addis Ababa for a meeting with colleagues from Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia and our sister charities from around the world. This meeting coincided with the centenary of the birth of our founder Dr Catherine Hamlin. We celebrated with reflections on her extraordinary legacy, as well as music and cake (see page seven)!
In Ethiopia, we heard more about the fantastic success of the Project Zero pilot last year. This bold new approach sees Hamlin-trained workers go door-to-door across a whole woreda (district) finding every woman suffering from obstetric fistula. Thanks to you, we were able to launch in another woreda earlier this year. Turn to pages four and five to read Fasika’s story of being found and treated as part of the project.
I hope you feel proud to know that you make this work possible. Without you, Selam (opposite) would still be feeling hopeless and Fasika would be hidden and isolated. Your commitment powers the hard work of colleagues across Ethiopia. Together, we can end fistula in Ethiopia. Forever.
With warmest wishes,
Greg Morris Chair, Hamlin Fistula UK
News
From Hopelessness to Happiness Selam’s Story
Selam comes from Shiraro, a rural town in northern Tigray, near the border with Eritrea. Her hometown has long been a conflict hotspot. First during the Civil War in the 1980s, and more recently in 2022 during the Tigray War.
“The last two years were times of suffering and pain. We were displaced and desperately searched for a place to hide our family. We had nothing to eat and drink. We were not caught by the soldiers, but we still experienced trauma. I have not yet been able to return to my home.”
Amidst this chaos, Selam found herself pregnant again.
“I was in labour for two days, but my baby was dead in my womb. My case was too difficult for the doctors in Shiraro so I was referred to a bigger hospital in Shire. Unfortunately it was too late to save my baby, but the doctors succeeded in saving my life. After the stillbirth, I totally lost control of my urine. It started flowing unconsciously.”
The doctors referred Selam to the nearest Hamlin Fistula Hospital. She was offered transport with a local NGO to travel over 300km to Mekele.
“When I first arrived here, my right leg was painful and not working properly. The physiotherapy treatment helped me to walk again.
I am so happy with how we are treated here. Everything is clean, we drink clean water, the care we receive from the nurses is amazing, we eat healthy food.
At first, I felt deeply depressed and hopeless. But the motherly care I am receiving has turned those feelings into happiness and hopefulness.
Now I am on my way to being cured and hoping to rejoin my family. I would like to thank Dr. Melaku. Without his specialist services, many women like me could die helplessly.”
Your support makes it possible for Dr Melaku and his team to treat women in Mekele Fistula Hospital. Thank you for offering hope to women like Selam.
“Before I came here, I worried that I am the only person on earth with such a problem. But when I saw others like me I was relieved and felt hopeful for a cure.”
Pictured: Selam (left) smiles with a fellow patient after her successful fistula treatment.
Latest News from Ethiopia
Project Zero
Expanding Project Zero
Project Zero is Hamlin Fistula’s flagship project to realise our vision of ending fistula in Ethiopia forever.
After a successful pilot in 2023, we have now started Phase Two in a second woreda (district).
In the second half of 2024, we will expand again into Serahiti woreda in the Tigray region. From 2025, Project Zero will begin to declare, woreda by woreda, that no woman is suffering with an obstetric fistula.
Five women found with childbirth injuries
At the start of March, health extension workers started house-to-house surveys to find women with untreated obstetric fistula injuries.
In the first two kebeles (neighbourhoods), 1,073 households were reached. There were five women with childbirth injuries identified, who were then transferred to Hamlin’s Metu Fistula Hospital for treatment.
Raising awareness
Project Zero staff wearing special PZ t-shirts are conducting awareness-raising activities including distributing leaflets, engaging with people at large gatherings and using a loudspeaker fixed to the top of a car to spread the word.
The key messages being conveyed are how to identify fistula, what the causes and consequences are, how to treat it and how to prevent it.
The second woreda
Project Zero launched in Didessa woreda in the Oromia region of Ethiopia on 13th February 2024. This woreda covers an area of 632 square km, with an estimate 18,208 rural households.
Before starting the project, Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia staff held meetings with local stakeholders, to ensure their support and commitment. This included government officials, religious and community leaders and health care providers.
An initial baseline assessment was conducted to determine levels of awareness of obstetric fistula and maternal healthcare uptake (see results to the right.) This was done through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions at community and health centres.
The Impact Of Your Support
Fasika's Story
Fasika was overjoyed when she became pregnant soon after she got married. The nearest health facility was far from home, so she did not attend for antenatal checkups or delivery.
Fasika endured an excruciating labour for more than two days at home. Her family did their best to help, but Fasika’s baby was tragically stillborn. She also sustained an obstetric fistula injury which left her incontinent.
She could not afford treatment, and all but one of her subsequent pregnancies resulted in stillbirths. Grieving the loss of her babies, Fasika could only participate in social activities using pieces of clothing as pads. Fasika was found during house-to-house surveys carried out as part of the most recent phase of Project Zero. She was transported to Hamlin’s Metu Fistula Hospital for life-changing surgery.
Fasika will soon return to her community, cured and ready to start her life anew.
Pictured: Faskia smiles outside the Metu Fistula Hospital.
APPG Visit
UK Parliamentarians tour Hamlin Fistula Hospital
Earlier this year, the team at Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia were delighted to host Members of the UK Parliament and House of Lords. A delegation from the UK All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases visited our Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital as part of their study tour to Ethiopia.
The cross-party UK parliamentary delegation included Baroness Helene Hayman, Lord Jonathan Oates, Patrick Grady MP, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP, James Sunderland MP and group coordinator Martha Varney.
Konjit Kassahun, Head of Prevention and Project Zero, provided the group with an overview of Hamlin’s work for women across Ethiopia. She introduced our new Project Zero initiative, to end fistula in Ethiopia (read more on pages four and five). The delegation raised important questions and commented on the points of crossover between Hamlin’s work to improve women’s health in Ethiopia with initiatives to tackle neglected tropical diseases, which also have a devastating impact on women’s lives. The group were particularly interested to learn about how Hamlin continues to deliver its work for women during times of crisis. For example, our recent work to restore maternal health services for women in the war-torn Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. Surgeon Dr Biniyam also joined the group
to answer their questions. He led them on a tour around the hospital to meet health professionals and learn more about our treatment and rehabilitation services.
The group met with a patient who was about to be discharged home. She bravely shared her story of treatment and recovery. Reflecting on the visit in a letter to Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia, Lord Jonathan Oates wrote on behalf of the APPG:
“Meeting some of the remarkable women affected by fistula, and the dedicated healthcare professionals tending to them, was one of the highlights of our visit, and it was inspiring to see some of the vital treatment, care, and rehabilitation that they were receiving at the hospital, as well as the important work to reduce stigma and discrimination.”
High profile visits like this can only happen thanks to your ongoing support. By raising the profile of Hamlin Fistula, you help to shine a spotlight on the devastating impact of avoidable childbirth injuries in Ethiopia.
Happy 100th Birthday Catherine!
On 24th January 2024, the global Hamlin family came together to celebrate the 100th birthday of our founder, Dr Catherine Hamlin. We marked Catherine’s centenary birthday at the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital. The festivities were attended by members of her family, Board and staff members of Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia and representatives from around the world as well as local and international dignitaries.
There were heartfelt speeches about the impact of her work and the legacy she has left behind. Catherine is remembered for her compassionate care of women with devastating childbirth injuries. The Hamlin Model of Care is a holistic approach to treating women physically, emotionally and psychologically.
A specially commissioned tribute song was performed by the Addis Ababa University Cultural Group. Later, a delicious birthday cake was served – Catherine always enjoyed
“We give every woman our love, care and expertise to help them get better and back to a normal life.”
– Dr Catherine Hamlin
The gift of a lifetime
Maree is a long-term supporter of Hamlin Fistula. She recently chose to make the gift of a lifetime by adding a charitable bequest to her Will. These are her reasons for helping future generations of Ethiopian women:
“The thought of any woman experiencing this devastating injury and the life lead because of it is simply horrifying, beyond the imagining of most. If my simple gift contributes to a better life for her and, by extension, her community, I’m thrilled to be a small part.”
Living in a country where obstetric fistula is almost unheard of, Maree thinks it’s a ‘no brainer’ that a gift in her Will can make such a monumental difference to women’s lives through surgery and education of future midwives.
“I know my family, particularly my daughter, is more than happy to know a gift in my Will has been made to help improve mother’s lives. We are a global community. Women are the backbone of communities when they are strong and healthy.”
you join Maree and leave a gift in your Will to support women in Ethiopia?
Pictured: Maree and her daughter on her wedding day.