Fistula Survivor’s Name:  Fanta Fafana
Interview Date:  September 3, 2018
Interview Location:  Phebe Rehab Center, Bong County, Liberia
Interviewers:  Kathy Beth Stavinoha and Walter Matthews
 
Fanta Fafana was born in Montserrado County, Liberia.  Both of her parents are deceased.  She was living with her brother but since she got her fistula in 2015, he doesn’t have time for her.  She got her fistula through “borning.”  During her labor, they took her behind the house and tried unsuccessfully to help the birthing process.  Then they took her to the hospital.  When she got to the hospital, her baby was dead.
 
The worst thing about having a fistula was that she couldn’t go among people.  She had to be by herself.  Having a fistula made her sad.  It made her want to kill herself. 
 
Fanta studied cosmetology for her trade at the Rehabilitation Center.  She chose cosmetology because she wants to do something good for herself.  Upon graduation, she plans to stay in Gbarnga. 
 
She is healed “small small,” but is still leaking. 
 
She would advise girls to study, as a way to avoid getting a fistula.  Fanta would like to go to school.  She has passed her exams but she cannot afford to go to school because she has no money.  She wants people to know that she is looking for financial help. 
 
Fanta is a fistula survivor.  Hear her story in her own voice:

Fistula Survivor’s Name:  Fatu Tokpah
Interview Date:  September 4, 2018
Interview Location:  Phebe Rehab Center, Bong County, Liberia
Interviewers:  Kathy Beth Stavinoha and Kathi Gutierrez
 
Fatu Tokpah grew up in Monrovia.  She was born September 28, 1990 in Duside Hospital on the Firestone Plantation where her father works as a driver and a heavy duty mechanic.  He is still alive but her mother has passed.  She has eight brothers and sisters.  Her father has five children by her mother and four from another.  She did not go to school.
 
Fatu got her fistula on October 11, 2016.  Three days after giving birth, she saw that she was soiling herself, but she couldn’t feel it.  She had heard of the “poo poo and pee pee sickness,” but did not know that it was called “fistula.”  When she came down with fistula, she used to cry and worry.  She felt that she would never get well and that her life was over.  She thought she would never feel like a woman again.
 
Her father and her little sister took her to the hospital but the staff there sent her to the fistula center.  They told her the people at the center would help her.  They would treat her, give her a place to stay, and feed her.  They said, “They will do everything for you.”  A nurse gave them directions and they took her to Phebe. 
 
She’s had two surgeries and she still leaks a bit but it’s much better than before.  Previously, she had to change her clothes 9 and 10 times a day but she’s much better.  She will stay in Phebe and have another surgery. 
 
She is married but her husband has abandoned her for now.  She doesn’t know if he will take her back when she is dry, but she hopes that he will because she doesn’t want to have children from different fathers.  She has a little boy named Joseph who was born in Monrovia.  She also has an 8-year-old daughter who currently is staying with her father. 
 
The worst thing about having a fistula is that nobody comes around you.  Not even your parents and family.  Everybody stays away.  Only her father and little sister helped her.  Her father is very old and couldn’t really take care of her.  Her sister is very small, but she was the only one to come around her.  Her other sisters and brothers and friends stayed away from her.  It made her cry for many days.  It really broke her down and made her feel really bad. 
 
At the Phebe Rehabilitation Center, she learned cosmetology as her trade.  She likes doing hair and nails.  When she graduates, she prays that she can do hair because almost all the young girls want to look good.  They want to see their hair fixed and see themselves looking good.  She hopes that with what they give her, she will be able to support herself and her two children. 
 
She will talk to her friends and tell them not to go around boys that will make them pregnant.  She would advise those who are pregnant to go to a fine hospital and stay healthy and strong
 
A fistula is a very shameful and disgraceful problem.  It stops you from going around people.  She appreciates Dignity:Liberia, especially Kathi.  This is Kathi’s second time to visit the Rehab Center during Fatu’s stay there. 
 
To her children she says God should make her strong.  She will be able to support her children with what she learned at Rehab.
 
She does not want her daughter to “get into men business.”  She wants her to be educated.  She asks God to help her and her children and to give her strength.  She doesn’t want her children to be on the streets and get sick. 
 
Fatu is a fistula survivor.  Hear her story in her own voice:

In September, I was part of the Dignity:Liberia team that traveled to Liberia.  For me, the most memorable experiences from our trip were delivering supplies and donations to the Phebe Rehabilitation Center and interviewing fistula survivors. 

We drove onto the Rehab Center compound in two different vehicles on the morning of September 3rd.  I was in the lead vehicle and was overwhelmed with emotion at the joyous greeting we received.  Women and girls - fistula survivors - came running from their dorm rooms and greeted us with hugs and smiles.  Some of our team had been there in March, so were familiar faces, but all of us received an enthusiastic welcome.  Next, Sao, one of the teachers, joined us playing a saa saa (a musical gourd).  The girls began singing and dancing.  I was laughing with joy and soon clapping my hands to the music.
 
We then unloaded boxes of supplies and took them to the Palava Hut where Sao and an assistant meticulously inventoried every item received.  The boxes contained a number of items for the various trades taught at Rehab (pastry making, embroidering, tailoring, soap making, and cosmetology).  The trade each survivor learns will enable her to earn a living once she graduates and leaves the Rehabilitation Center.  We also provided toiletries and boxes of Depends that the matron, Leemue, had requested.  (Some of the girls are still leaking and will require additional surgery.  These lined panties allow them freedom to move about confidently.)  For months Dignity:Liberia had collected these supplies in anticipation of this trip.  Donors included friends, fellow church members, and even strangers – all answering a call to help.  It was gratifying to witness these supplies reach the intended recipients and to know they will improve the quality of their lives.
 
We spent two and a half days at Rehab.  Much time was spent engaging in various crafts with the fistula survivors and getting to know them.  They looked at pictures stored on our phones and enjoyed hearing about our lives in the United States.  One girl taught me how to say hello in Kpelle: “Ya-tuah!”   
 
On the second morning, I interviewed 12 fistula survivors, whose stories will be posted on our web site.  During the interviews, I finally fully grasped the depth of pain and despair these women and girls have experienced.  They all spoke of the shame they felt from being constantly wet.  They spoke of being shunned by friends and family.  They have lived in isolation for years, and could no longer go about in society.  No wonder they welcomed us with such joy!  We see them as the beautiful human beings that they are.  They are no longer untouchable.