SUMMER, 2008
In this issue:
• Letter from Executive Director
• An Interview with "A Walk to Beautiful" filmmakers
• Discussion Guide for Teachers
• New York Students Raise Money with Hope
• Tesfa Ineste: Volunteers with a Heart
Click here to give a young Ethiopian woman her dignity—and get a little of your own
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Hamlin Fistula Hospital Opens New Hospital in Harar, Ethiopia
The Hospital was financed entirely by a grant from the Fistula Foundation and its Tesfa Ineste program lead by Ethiopian-Americans
The Fistula Foundation announced that the new Fistula Hospital in Harar, Ethiopia began accepting its first patients on June 1, 2008. The Hospital was financed entirely by a grant from the Fistula Foundation and by the Ethiopian-American community in the United States, through the Foundation's Tesfa Ineste program.
Outside of Harar Hospital
The new fifty-bed Hospital will provide fistula repair and rehabilitation to women in the entire eastern part of Ethiopia, who previously had no access to such care. It will also provide emergency obstetric services and fistula awareness outreach services in an effort to prevent obstetric fistulas from occurring in the first place. The Harar Hospital is the fourth of five new regional facilities built by the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital to serve women in remote parts of Ethiopia. A fifth hospital in the town of Metu is under construction.
The Hospital was inaugurated in a ceremony in Harar on Friday, May 9, 2008. Dr. Catherine Hamlin, Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital founder, her son Richard Hamlin, Kassahun Kebede, Chair of the Fistula Foundation Board, and Abaynesh Asrat, Fistula Foundation Board Member and Tesfa Ineste Chair made remarks at the ceremony. Representatives from the Fistula Foundation were honored to participate in the inauguration, along with Ethiopian officials.
Opening Day: (left to right) Stephen Saunders (FF Board Member), Anne Ferguson (FF Operations Director), Dr. Catherine Hamlin (founder Hamlin Fistula Hospitals), Abaynesh Asrat (FF Board Member, Tesfa Ineste Chair), Kassahun Kebede (FF Board Chair), Kate Grant (FF Executive Director)
Letter from the Executive Director
Kate Grant,
Executive Director, Fistula Foundation
Dear Friends,
We hope that this newsletter finds you and your family thriving. We have had a very busy spring and are happy to give you an update. May, in particular, was an active and exciting month for the Foundation. As the article on the first page describes, Foundation representatives were delighted to be in Ethiopia on Friday, May 9th for the opening of the new Hamlin Fistula Hospital in the Eastern Ethiopian city of Harar. The day was sundrenched, with visitors from Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom attending the opening ceremony. Dr. Hamlin virtually glowed with joy as the fourth of the five new regional hospitals was opened with fanfare and great appreciation for the work of the talented Ethiopian staff, responsible for the construction.
On Tuesday, May 13, the Emmy-award winning television show NOVA on the Public Broadcasting System showcased the film "A Walk to Beautiful". The film, which was named best feature-length documentary by the International Documentary Association, was viewed by more than 2.3 million people that night, providing millions more people with a window into the tragedy of obstetric fistula and the pioneering work of Dr. Hamlin and her staff at the Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa.
We are pleased to be able to give you all the opportunity to learn more about the film, by going either to the PBS website at www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/beautiful or to the film's website at www.walktobeautiful.com. On both websites you can learn more about the film, the filmmakers, and on the PBS site you can also view the 54 minute version of the film online. In addition, as described on page 4, you can also buy a copy of the DVD to share with your family and friends. The film is a wonderful way to introduce potential supporters to the work you are supporting.
Lastly, we want to encourage you to consider making a donation to help defray the costs of the film, which is still in deficit.
We are grateful for your continuing interest in supporting our work and for your kind generosity that makes it possible.
Sincerely,
Board of Directors
Abaynesh Asrat |
C. Stephen Saunders, Esq. |
A Walk to Beautiful: An Interview with the Filmmakers
The Award-winning film, A Walk to Beautiful, a masterful work of art, was also a labor of love for the filmmakers at Engel Entertainment, the producers of the film. We wanted to share with you the perspective of Executive Producer, Steve Engel and Director, Mary Olive Smith to questions Foundation supporters have asked.
Q: How did the film come into being?
Executive Producer, Steve Engel: For some years, the
senior team at Engel Entertainment wanted to do a feature-length film.
In 2004, I read Nicholas Kristof's New York Times column about obstetric
fistula. I had never heard of the condition, and to me the astonishing
childbirth injury was jaw-dropping, and I felt we had to make a movie
about it. A friend offered seed money and we began to plan out the film.
The more research we did the more compelling the desire became on our
part to see the film become a reality. After a year of struggling to
raise money, my wife, Heidi Reavis and I decided to proceed with production
with the funds we had raised at that point — about 25% of the budget.
We began filming in early 2005.
Q: How did you gain the trust of the women in the film?
Director, Mary Olive Smith: There are certain issues
where women have no cultural boundaries. Childbirth is one of them. Being
able to look these women in the eye, not turning our heads, and listening
is what they desperately needed. I was just another woman sitting on
the floor of the hut willing to openly share in her sad situation.
Q: How did you choose the crew to work with on this film?
Steve Engel: Our two most senior producer-directors,
Mary Olive Smith and Amy Bucher, both of whom have been at Engel Entertainment
for more than a decade, were available and passionate about the subject
and the opportunity to shine a light on this issue. We staffed almost
every field position with Engel Entertainment women and our field crews
even took lessons in Amharic, a main language in Ethiopia.
Q: The film shies away from pointing the finger at any one element
of society. Was it sometimes tempting to do so?
Mary Olive Smith: Anyone not fully educated as to the
complex causes of a condition like fistula could very easily blame men,
religion, or entrenched cultural practices. But, beneath the surface,
the problem always comes back to poverty and the difficult balance of
a society barely living at the subsistence level. Many economists and
aid workers now believe that empowering women is the key to lifting African
societies out of their misery.
Q: You mentioned that the fundraising for the film was tougher
than you'd initially thought. Can you give us an update on that effort?
Steve Engel: The production of the film was more expensive
and took more time — over three years — than we originally thought.
So far, we have raised around $600,000 to fund the production, distribution
and outreach, but the costs have exceeded well over $1 million. We appreciate
the support from all sources and are enormously grateful for the contributions
we've received from the Fistula Foundation donors.
Q: What is on the horizon for the film?
Steve Engel: We are making a big push to get
the DVD broadly distributed in the U.S. and are distributing the film to
broadcasters in Australia, New Zealand, Norway and South Korea, and to
broadcasters in many African countries to help raise awareness of obstetric
fistula.
Director, Mary Olive Smith |
Executive Producer, Steve Engel |
The Foundation is grateful for all the support given to date for the film. If you want to support the film, please go to our website www.fistulafoundation.org. Our donation form provides the opportunity to contribute specifically to the film and we encourage you to do so.
Discussion Guide for Teachers
NOVA developed a Teaching Guide to enable teachers to use the film as a teaching tool. The eight-page guide is available for viewing and/or downloading on the NOVA website. The Guide includes background on the film, a detailed Discussion Guide with suggested activities. It was designed for college age students or for high school AP science classes. Margy Kuntz, an experienced writer and editor with more than 24 years of experience, developed the Guide. She has authored numerous educational supplements, basal text materials, and trade books on health, science, math, and computers.
There are two different versions of the film available.
We encourage
you to consider ordering one of these two versions.
 |
Theatrical Version
This is the Feature-Length Documentary version, 84 minutes long, which ran in theaters and at film festivals. Available for $24.99, (plus shipping and handling)
This version includes:
- several deleted scenes
- commentary tracks
- 10 min. short film: "Fistula Worldwide: The Hidden Epidemic"
Television Version
The film was edited to 54 minutes for television broadcast. This is the version that ran on NOVA. Available for $19.95 ($16.95 to members of Public Television). To order this version directly from NOVA you can either:
- Call 800 949-8670 or
- Visit www.shop.wgbh.org
New York Students Raise Money with Hope
Students of the Friends Seminary in New York, or as they called themselves "Friends Against Fistula", hosted a creative and engaging fundraising event on April 18th. The event, titled "Handbags from the Heart", featured a silent auction of donated handbags. The organizers also screened a portion of the Award-winning film "A Walk to Beautiful". One of the producers of the film and one of its largest funders is Heidi Reavis, alumnae of the Friends Seminary. The event raised over $18,000 for the Foundation. The Foundation is deeply grateful for the dedication of the "Friends Against Fistula" Team, including Project Director: Marielle Torres, and Assistant Project Coordinators: Alida Borgna, Sophie Golomb, Nora Kostow, Mardet Homans, D'Meca Homer, Tanya Singh, and Rachel Gomez, the Community Service Director at Friends Seminary. We are also grateful for the work of the Team at Engel and the generosity of Heidi Reavis and her husband, Steve Engel, the film's Executive Producer for making the film possible.
From left to right group members, first two students are un-named volunteers, then Alida Borgna, Nora Kostow, Sophie Golomb, D'meca Homer, Marielle Torres, Tanya Singh, missing from the photograph are Mardet Homans and Community Service Coordinator Rachel Gomez.
Tesfa Ineste: Volunteers with a Heart
Plaque from the front of the new Hospital in Harar.
Tesfa Ineste means "let's give them hope" in Amharic, a main language in Ethiopia — and is a fundraising campaign of the Fistula Foundation established to raise funds for the construction of the Fistula Hospital in Harar. Through the dedication and generosity of the Ethiopian-American community in the United States, Tesfa Ineste raised nearly $300,000 towards the total construction costs of the Hospital. Tesfa Ineste is chaired by Fistula Foundation Board Member, Abaynesh Asrat, who also chairs the New York Committee; the San Francisco Committee is chaired by Nebabie Kebebew, and the Washington, DC area Committee, which is by far the largest, is chaired by Tsedale Assefa. Tsedale's committee raised approximately 2/3rds of the funds for the Tesfa Ineste Program. In addition, individual Ethiopians raised funds toward the building of the Hospital.
Washington, DC organizing Committee at 2006 December fundraising event.
The Washington, DC Committee hosted many events, including three annual fundraising events in the month of December which drew hundreds of participants from the Ethiopian-American community. The dedicated members of the Organizing Committee included: Tsedale Assefa (Chair), Helen Tedla Teshome, Shimeles Bekele, Lillian Alemayehu, Kerima Maasho, Roman Abate, Misrak Gezmu, Hammere Gebreyes, Tizita Belachew, Yoadan Tilahun, Adanech (Addie) Asefa, Eyerusalem Endale, Fregenet Asseged, Hanem Ali, Mimi T. Smith, Selam Melke, Tegest Dirasse, Zeituna Hussien. The Foundation is very grateful for the work of these generous people, as well as Dr. Georgis Kefale.
Latest News
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The Foundation just completed its 2007 annual audit conducted by the accounting firm of Delagnes, Mitchell and Linder, LLP. A copy of the Foundation's 2007 Financial Statements and our 2007 Federal 990 Tax Return are available on our website and upon request.
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The film "A Walk to Beautiful" had a limited commercial run at the Kabuki Theater in San Francisco in April. Film Executive Producer, Steve Engel, Co-producer Allison Shigo and Foundation Executive Director, Kate Grant, participated in a panel discussion following the opening night screening.
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Foundation Board Members Steve Saunders, Kassy Kebede, Larry William and Abaynesh Asrat, along with Foundation staff members, Anne Ferguson and Kate Grant, attended the bi-annual meeting of the fundraising partners of Hamlin Fistula Hospitals in Ethiopia the first week of May, and the opening of the new Harar Hospital (story above.)
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The Foundation sponsored a screening of the film "A Walk to Beautiful" at the annual Global Health Council Conference in Washington, DC on May 30. Film Director, Mary Olive Smith, Co-producer, Allison Shigo, and Foundation Executive Director, Kate Grant, participated in a panel discussion following the screening.
"Just about the worst thing that can happen to a teenage girl in this world is to develop an obstetric fistula that leaves her trickling bodily wastes, stinking and shunned by everyone around her."
Nicholas D. Kristof
Two-time Pulitzer Prize Winner
New York Times Columnist
FLORIDA: REGISTRATION #:Ch17941- A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR THE FISTULA FOUNDATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. VIRGINIA: PLEASE NOTE: A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR THE FISTULA FOUNDATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE OFFICE OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, BY CALLING: 804-786-1402.