Caroline Harman is thrilled to join the Fistula Foundation team as Development Associate. She recently completed a master’s degree in anthropology from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of Virginia. She brings with her a background in North African studies and a commitment to…
Fistula Foundation is partnering with Quilts for Empowerment, an organization that teaches quilting to impoverished women in Kenya, including obstetric fistula survivors. Quilts for Empowerment has completed many quilt commissions for Fistula Foundation, with each one featuring the women’s work. Read more: Fistula Foundation partners with QFE Quilts for Empowerment is honored to announce that…
2018 will be a critical year for women around the world. Women on the margins are sharing their stories—and more and more of us are listening. Sarah Omega Kidangasi, our invaluable staff member, is a fistula survivor. As a teenager, she was raped by a person in power and intimidated into silence. But Sarah is…
Correspondent Fred de Sam Lararo of PBS News Hour provides an analysis on the stigma of obstetric fistula, and the work being done in Kenya to help treat it. Read the full article at the link below: Analysis: The devastating stigma of fistula and the surgery that can help One big challenge of being a…
PBS News Hour highlights obstetric fistula and the suffering it causes to roughly one million women in the developing world. Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro reports from Kenya on efforts to offer treatment and reintegrate women back into communities. Watch the full segment in the link below: Erasing the pain and taboo of this…
Dr. Sunday Lengmang is considered one of the world’s leading fistula surgeons. He is the only doctor in Nigeria that performs urinary diversions—surgeries for women whose fistulas are so severe, they would otherwise be considered “incurable.” Fistula Foundation is proud to support Dr. Lengmang’s work at Evangel Vesico-Vaginal Fistula Center in Jos, Nigeria—the nation bearing…
Fistula Foundation’s work in Madagascar wouldn’t be the same without the amazing support of our partner, Icon. Read their Giveback recap blog post below, and the stories of women at SALFA, our partner in Madagascar: How You Changed These Women’s Lives 12/19/17 written by Natalie Pattillo How You Changed These Women’s Lives As a women-led…
Fistula Foundation extends sincere gratitude to its many generous supporters as 2017 comes to a close.
The Rohingya refugee crisis continues to devastate lives in Southeast Asia. Hundreds of thousands have poured into Bangladesh, fleeing intense persecution in Myanmar. Cosmopolitan recently published the story of Sayeda Begum, a refugee who experienced a traumatic childbirth and a horrifying journey through the Rohingya crisis. Fleeing for her life while suffering from fistula, Sayeda…
Fistula Foundation is proud to announce that on December 1, 2017, we were awarded Charity Navigator’s ‘exceptional’ 4-star rating—for the twelfth consecutive year. Charity Navigator is the leading charity evaluator in the United States. Only 1% of charities reviewed on the site have received their prestigious 4-star rating over such a sustained period of time….
Fistula Foundation Zambia Program Manager Bwalya Chomba is featured in an interview on Lusaka Times, highlighting Fistula Foundation’s work in Zambia to improve awareness about obstetric fistula, reduce stigma, and increase the number of referrals of women for treatment. Read the full article at the link below: Zambia : Women with fistula condition urged to…
We need to raise over $3 million before December 31 to treat women still waiting in 13 countries Our partners in the field have been hard at work this year providing life-changing fistula treatment across Africa and Asia, and we are hopeful as we look ahead to 2018. But we need your help. We need…
One of our largest partners, WAHA International, has been listening closely to their fistula patients’ needs in Central Africa. They began a fistula treatment program in Burundi in 2014, but realized that the majority of patients were refugees fleeing violence in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In response, WAHA shifted their operation across…
The National Borama Fistula Hospital team in Somaliland was overjoyed this August—they received a large shipment of new equipment, made possible by Fistula Foundation supporters like you! The equipment will be put to good use at the hospital, which is the only facility in Somaliland dedicated entirely to fistula treatment. Since our partnership began in…
Thanks to the generosity of 592 compassionate supporters like you, we met our goal of $250,000 to build a new fistula care center for HEAL Africa hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We even crossed the finish line four days ahead of schedule! The new facility will expand capacity for fistula treatment and increase…
Supporters like you have changed thousands of lives through our Action on Fistula program in Kenya. Community outreach is critical to the project’s overall success. In fact, over 80 percent of patients are referred to Action on Fistula directly through outreach efforts. That’s why we are overflowing with gratitude for our outreach partners at WADADIA…
Mt. Kilimanjaro sits on the northern border of Tanzania, and at 19,341 feet, it is Africa’s tallest mountain. For trekkers headed to the top, there are many technical challenges to overcome. Michael Nedham was up to the task, and he used the opportunity to raise $1000 for Fistula Foundation and two other charities. “I was…
Thanks to the generosity of two long-term Fistula Foundation supporters, Lars and Veronica Bane, CEO Kate Grant participated in a weeklong program at Harvard Business School (HBS) designed for nonprofit leaders, called Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management. The course was started over twenty years ago, and is led by Harvard faculty members Herman Leonard and…
