Spence School Mother-Daughter "Night Out" Raises Money and Awareness

Like many of the Fistula Foundation donors, New York's Spence School students, Julia Capalino, Janie Ostrager and Selby Drummond, were deeply moved by Dr. Catherine Hamlin when she appeared on the Oprah Show last year to talk about her life's work founding the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital. Over the last year, amid a typically hectic high school schedule of paper writing and exam taking, these generous young women organized a mother-daughter party and fashion show. They dared to dream big, setting a goal for themselves to raise $75,000 on behalf of the Hospital. While some said they would never do it, they proved the doubters wrong: by enlisting the help of Vogue magazine and Capalino & Company, they raised over $100,000 for the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital.

The event called "A Girl's Night Out" featured a fashion show and auction of dresses donated by designers such as Calvin Klein, Oscar de la Renta, Prada and Diane Von Furstenberg. The event was held at the Metropolitan Pavilion with space donated by the owner Alan Boss. Super-model Liya Kebede, wife of Fistula Foundation President and Board Chair Kassy Kebede served as an honorary co-Chair, along with Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer. "I was so impressed by the creativity and tenacity of Julia, Janie and Selby and the rest of their team from the Spence School. They truly gave of themselves on behalf of women suffering unimaginable injuries", said Liya Kebede, who is also the World Health Organization's Ambassador for Maternal and Child Health.

The evening worked because of the dedication of the young women organizing the event and because of the invaluable help from their fellow committee members, including Bee Shaffer, Hannah Bronfman, Haley Cohen and Annabelle Dexter-Jones. Even New York mayor, Michael Bloomberg's companion, the beautiful Diana Taylor lent a hand. Catering was contributed by Cipriani. "When Dr. Hamlin appeared on Oprah, she touched millions of Oprah viewers. These wonderful young women at the Spence School, turned their feelings into a labor of love; the funds they raised will help enable Dr. Hamlin to restore the health and dignity of many young Ethiopian women" said Fistula Foundation Board Chair and President, Kassy Kebede.

May 08, 2005
New York, NY:

L-R, Janie Ostrager, Selby Drummond, and Julia Capalino, co-chairs of A Girls' Night Out, a fashion show benefit event to support the Fistula Foundation.

© 2005 Borden Capalino.

A letter from Mr. Kassy Kebede

Dear Friends,

The last year has been one of vibrant growth for the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital and for us here at the Fistula Foundation. The Hospital is rapidly expanding its outreach capacity through the building of five new Centers throughout Ethiopia, enabling the health and dignity of many more women to be restored. This important expansion is enabled by the support of donors like you.

In May, Mr. Mark Bennett joined the hospital as its new CEO, and Mr. Tekalign Gedamu assumed the position of Chairman of the Hamlin Fistula Welfare and Relief Trust. The trust serves as the oversight body for the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, and helps fund it from within Ethiopia. To enhance communications between the Hospital and its American supporters, Mr. Gedamu also recently assumed an honorary seat on the Fistula Foundation Board of Directors. We welcome both of these gentlemen to their respective posts, and extend them our sincere wishes for success.

In addition, Johnson & Johnson continues to be one of the Hospital's major supporters providing grant funds enabling the development and expansion of innovative programs to help prevent the ravages of obstetric fistula. We are grateful for this generous support of New Jersey based Johnson & Johnson, a company truly demonstrating what it means to be a strong corporate citizen globally.

As someone who was born in Ethiopia and who lived just a short distance from the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, I am passionately committed to its mission and to ensuring its future. In this spirit, I wish to express my deepest appreciation for your generous support.

Sincerely,

Kassy Kebede
President and Board Chairman
The Fistula Foundation

A night to remember in New York

More than $20,000 was raised for the Tesfa Ineste Campaign when the New York Regional Committee hosted friends and supporters for an evening of dinner and dancing. Entertainment was provided by musician Abay and comedian Meskerem Bekele. A live auction and raffle of Ethiopian arts and crafts completed the evening.

The Tesfa Ineste campaign was launched by Ethiopians living abroad, in conjunction with the Fistula Foundation, to help their sisters back home in Ethiopia by committing to raise $400,000 toward the building and furnishing of the Harrar Satellite Center by 2006. The center is one of five that are under construction or being planned by the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital to reach women in the provinces who require fistula surgery, and to help prevent fistulas by offering education programs and emergency obstetric care.

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New hospital chairman has long record of service in Africa

The Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital announced the election of a new Chair for the Board of Trustees in Addis Ababa. He is Ato Tekalign Gedamu, formerly the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Abyssinia, Ethiopia.

Mr. Gedamu was born in Ethiopia and is a recognized expert in development, with outstanding professional experience and academic credentials. Notably, he received a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois, and went on to complete a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University. He had an important career chapter in the United States, where from 1993-1995, he was President of Transnational Development Associates, a private consulting firm.

Mr. Gedamu started his career as an economist with the United Nations in New York and then moved to Addis Ababa, serving on the UN's Economic Commission for Africa as an Economic Affairs Officer. He has held a variety of high-level posts with the Government of Ethiopia, including Minister of Planning and Development and Minister of Transport and Communications. In addition, he served as the Managing Director of the Development Bank of Ethiopia and the Vice President, Finance and Vice President, Central Operations with the African Development Bank in Cote d'Ivoire. He is currently on the board of the Canadian-based Foundation for International Training and on the board of FAHA, the Foundation Against HIV/AIDS in Africa, based in Maryland.

The Hospital and the Fistula Foundation welcome Mr. Gedamu to his new position.

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New Jersey Congressman visits the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital

United States Congressman and human-rights activist Christopher Smith of New Jersey visited the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in August, as part of a three-day trip to Ethiopia. The Congressman recently offered an amendment to the Foreign Relations Authorization Act to provide funding to help women suffering from obstetric fistula in Africa.

"An estimated two million women globally suffer from fistula, which can be treated with a relatively minor surgical procedure," Smith explained. He praised the work of the Fistula Hospital and its efforts to improve women's health in Ethiopia. "This hospital and its satellite centers in Ethiopia are a model that we hope to use in developing other such centers to help women who suffer needlessly from this terrible condition."

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The Fistula Foundation moves to new facilities

In an effort to improve operational efficiency and maximize your dollars, the Fistula Foundation has combined its New York and California offices into a single office in Santa Clara, California. The office brings all financial and donor relations activities under one roof, while maintaining close ties with corporate and other east-coast donors through the efforts of President and Board Chair Kassy Kebede and other board members based in and around New York City.

The new office is located at 1171 Homestead Road, Suite 265, Santa Clara, CA 95050. Local and toll-free telephone numbers remain the same, (408) 249-9596 and (866) 756-3700 respectively. A new fax line has been set up at (408) 516-9904; all online communications remain the same.

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More thanks to our donors

Johnson & Johnson provided the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital with another generous grant of $50,000 to support outreach and prevention activities. The Fistula Foundation and the Hospital are very grateful for the ongoing financial support of Johnson & Johnson, who had previously given over $300,000 to support the Hospital. Johnson & Johnson exhibits exemplary leadership through their Worldwide Contributions Program, demonstrating through words and actions what it means to be a good corporate citizen.

Rochester Medical Corporation, a leading provider of innovative continence care products, has donated a year's supply of their FemSoft inserts to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital. FemSoft inserts help control unintentional urine loss, eliminating concerns of wetness and odor. They are used by some fistula patients who continue to have stress urinary incontinence, i.e. minor loss of control from coughing, sneezing, laughing, lifting or other physical activities that increase pressure on the bladder.

SRS Medical donated supplies, including their MiniPro paper and single and double catheters, for the hospital's urodynamic system. The system is used to assess the function of patients' bladders and sphincter muscles. Other supplies from the company were purchased by the Fistula Foundation at a 10% discount extended by SRS Medical.

Direct Relief International partners with international healthcare projects, such as the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, supplying medicines, equipment and medical supplies donated by their corporate supporters. The Fistula Foundation partners with DRI, adding our donated and purchased supplies to their yearly shipments to Ethiopia. DRI is a non-profit organization focused on improving the quality of life for people in need by providing direct support to local, well-run health efforts.

A hearty "thank you" to Johnson & Johnson, Rochester Medical, SRS Medical and DRI for their generous support.

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