Fistula Survivor’s Name:  Linda Kumah
Interview Date:  February 25, 2020
Interview Location:  Phebe Rehabilitation Center, Bong County
Interviewer:  Kathy Beth Stavinoha
Assisted by: Emma K. Katakpah
 
Linda Kumah and I had a bit of trouble understanding each other, but with laughter and repetition, we were successful in communicating.  Linda is from Sinoe County.  She has six sisters and five brothers by the same ma and same pa.  Linda’s favorite color is blue.  I asked her to say something in her dialect, Krahn.  Afterward, she translated that she is grateful to God for making her well.  She said she wants to go back to her people and to be happy.  
 
She got her fistula on March 15, 2019, after being in labor for three days, the baby died in her womb and was surgically removed at the Greenville Hospital (F.J. Grant Memorial Hospital, in Greenville).  She has no other children.   
 
The doctor advised her to go to Bong County so she could get well.  Her grandma and her pa took her.  She learned how to bake at the Rehab Center.  She wants to go back to her people in Sinoe County, where she will open a shop and bake bread to earn a living. 
 
When she had her fistula, she had to clean her clothes a lot, but she is dry now, after only one fistula repair surgery.  She would tell her friends to go to the hospital when they’re in pain (labor). 
 
When I asked her what she could tell me about herself, she replied that she can’t give birth by herself, and thanked God for her health.
 
Linda Kumah is a fistula survivor.  Hear her story in her own voice: 

Fistula Survivor’s Name:  Susan Dwanah
Interview Date:  February 25, 2020
Interview Location:  Phebe Rehabilitation Center, Bong County
Interviewer:  Kathy Beth Stavinoha
Assisted by: Emma K. Katakpah
 
Susan Dwanah is from Bopolu.  Her favorite color is pink.  She is the oldest child (the first) in her family.  She is 22.  She doesn’t know the ages of her 2 brothers and 1 sister.  Susan has no children. 
 
I sensed a lot of pain and reluctance to talk about her experience.  At one point during the interview, I felt compelled to tell her she should not be ashamed.  She has a sickness.  She has a lovely smile and laughed when we joked about her doing my hair and when I showed off my limited Kpelle. 
 
Susan was in pain (in labor) for 3 days.  Then “they were on her” and she got the pee pee problem (fistula).  She had a C-section to remove the baby who was stillborn. 
 
Emma Katakpah explained that Susan was assessed for surgery in December 2019, during the fistula campaign.  Her fistula is all the way to the bone, so it will require a special surgery.  It’s a very difficult surgery.  So, she is still on a waiting list to have her fistula repaired and she is still leaking.  She has been leaking since 2018.
 
Susan had been at Rehab for a month at the time of the interview.  Unfortunately, she hasn’t learned a trade because there is no material available.  The Rehab Center has run out of material.  Susan is hoping that they will be able to get things so she will be able to practice.  She wants to learn cosmetology and plait hair.  She can do some now.  The other girls who are at Rehab, had completed their courses and were only awaiting graduation.  When Susan goes back home, she wants to fix a place to do her business.
 
The fistula makes her feel bad.  Her grandmother is at Rehab with her.  Her former friends have abandoned her, but she has made new friends at Rehab.  They play ball together.     
 
Susan would tell pregnant women to go to the doctor so they would not get fistula.  They shouldn’t stay in the village.  They shouldn’t go behind the house 
 
Although not yet healed, Susan is a fistula survivor.  Hear her story in her own voice: 

When I was in the fourth grade, my parents signed a permission slip that allowed me to view a film strip entitled, “It’s Wonderful to be a Girl.”  That was my introduction to a woman’s reproductive cycle.  I don’t recall discussing it with my parents, but I do recall sitting down with my mother the following year, after watching a similar film.  She wanted to give me a chance to ask questions about what to expect when I reached puberty.  My parents wanted me to informed.  Despite that, I had no idea why my stomach hurt and why I had a headache when I had my first period.  My mom explained I had started menstruating, and made sure I had a supply of sanitary napkins.  Imagine not knowing.  Imagine not having anything to staunch the flow. 
 
While we were in Liberia this past February, we joined Steven Stauffer, Gender Coordinator for Peace Corps/Liberia, to hold a menstrual cup distribution which included an educational component.  Most of the young ladies in attendance were college students and better educated than the rural fistula survivors we encountered.  Still, they recalled having to figure things out on their own, or with the help of a female relative - typically an older sister, and not really understanding what was happening to their bodies.  They spoke of missing school as well.  All too often, this can start a downward spiral that ends with a young girl dropping out of school.  Fortunately, this was not the case with the menstrual cup distribution attendees.  
 
Even though this group of young ladies already knew what to expect each month, the educational piece included lessening the taboo of speaking about the woman’s monthly cycle, and provided an opportunity to ask questions that had not yet been answered.  The presentation also included instruction on how to use and maintain the menstrual cups.  With proper care, they can last up to 10 years, so this can be a huge money-saver. 
 
I interviewed three of the young ladies in attendance. 

Fistula Survivor’s Name:  Wilhelmina Davis
Interview Date:  February 25, 2020
Interview Location:  Phebe Rehabilitation Center, Bong County
Interviewer:  Kathy Beth Stavinoha
Assisted by: Emma K. Katakpah
 
Wilhelmina Davis is from Grand Gedeh County.  She told me “thank you, God will bless you,” in Krahn, her dialect.  She has five brothers and three sisters.  She has four children of her own.  Her oldest is 18.  Her next child is 12.  The third one is 10.  Her fourth child is 7.  They are all four boys.  Her youngest had been living in Grand Gedeh County, but she sent for him to join her at the Rehab Center.  Wilhelmina is 35 and has not been to school.  Her favorite color is blue
 
She got her fistula from going to the bush to give birth (giving birth at home).  The pain grabbed her (she was in labor), but those assisting with her delivery did not want to wait. They asked her how many hours she had been in labor.  They did not want to listen to her.  They were trying to force delivery by hauling the child (pulling on the baby).  The people said that something was coming from underneath her so they took her to Redemption [Hospital].  They gave her some medicine and sent her home.  She went to Dr. Mulbah’s clinic and he said she had a fistula. 
 
Dr. Mulbah repaired her fistula.  Dr. Mabry did a follow-up examination for some residual incontinence, but she said Wilhelmina no longer has a fistula.  She said she would be okay.  Wilhemina still leaks small small (a little bit).
 
She was feeling bad when she had her fistula.  Her big sister didn’t want her to feel bad.  She didn’t want her to be worrying.  She would hold her and talk to her.  She assured her that God would be with her and that God would help her. 
 
But her boyfriend didn’t have time for her since she had her fistula.  Since she was in Monrovia, he wouldn’t even call her.  Her sister was the one that took care of her.  She didn’t do anything to make her feel bad.  Whatever she wanted; her sister would do for her.  She gave her support.  She told her to come to the Rehab Center to learn a trade.
 
Her friends wouldn’t come around.  She couldn’t tell them her secret.  Because when you tell your secret, they’ll be “carrying your name around” (gossiping) so she’s got no friends.  She just kept quiet about it.  She said “My stomach is feeling all right.”  No one besides her sister knew of her problem (fistula), because if you explain your problem they’ll be “carrying your name all around.” 
 
She learned tailoring, soap making, and bread making.  But there hasn’t been any material for a year now.  She’s been at Rehab for one year.  She wants to go home.  She wants to fix soap and bread to sell for money so she can send her son to school.  She would be supporting her children. 
 
She would tell a pregnant friend to go to Phebe Hospital to wait until your time is reached [you’re ready to deliver].  If you’re pregnant go to the hospital to deliver safely to avoid getting a fistula.
 
Wilhelmina is a fistula survivor.  Hear her story in her own voice.

Fistula Survivor’s Name:  Mammie Davids
Interview Date:  February 25, 2020
Interview Location:  Phebe Rehabilitation Center, Bong County
Interviewer:  Kathy Beth Stavinoha
Assisted by: Emma K. Katakpah
 
Mammie Davids is from Nimba County.  She is 26 years old and is not married.  The second child born to her parents, she has one brother and five sisters.  When she was a little girl, they played kickball. 
 
She got her fistula in 2006.  After two years of leaking, she had a fistula repair operation.  She has had three operations to repair the fistula because of a recurrence, but she is dry now.  She was in pain (labor) for two days.  She was in Monrovia on GSA road.  The child (baby) was big, so she couldn’t deliver on her own.  They took her to the James Davis Hospital.  She had a C-section (the child operation) and came down with a fistula.  The baby died.  She has five girls.  Her first child was born in 2003 and the last in 2010.  Currently they live in Monrovia with her brother, who is taking care of them while she is at the Rehab Center.  Their father lives in Nimba. 
 
She and her boyfriend are not together now and her family doesn’t want to see him.  Her brothers and sisters have stuck by her.  When I asked what was hard about having a fistula, Mammie said that her boyfriend abandoning her made her sad.  When she went into labor, he cut himself off from her.  He would not come to the house, so her people got vexed (angry) and her family told her not to be with him.   
 
When she had the sickness (her fistula), she had to spend the whole day washing her clothes by herself.  She is dry now.  She is not experiencing anything anymore so she tells God thank you.
 
She said having a fistula “opened her brain,” (opened her eyes) because her boyfriend was bossing her around in Monrovia so she tells God thank you for opening her brain.  Fistula taught her tailoring, fistula taught her tie-dying, fistula taught her [could not understand], fistula taught her soap-making.  She can do everything now.  Her favorite is tailoring.   
 
She sees tailoring as her future.  When she leaves the Rehab Center, she and her children will survive on it.  She is building her own house.  At the time of the interview, it had reached roof-level.  When her house is finished, she will have her shop attached to it.  She will be able to conduct business from the house.  Her children can be home while she does tailoring and sells her clothes.
 
She likes to sing and dance.  She composed the words to a song that she sang for us in her beautiful voice.  Some of the lyrics are:
 
No money can buy your salvation
No man can do it for you
Your family member can’t do it for you beside God
You must be baptized and be born again
I fear no man by the grace of God
 
Mammie is a fistula survivor.  Hear her story in her own voice: