Dignity:Liberia
  • Home
  • What is fistula?
    • Liberia: A Nation in Recovery
  • Our Mission
    • Board of Directors
    • Liberia NGO Office
    • Our Partners
  • Get Involved
    • Maternity Waiting Home
    • Past Campaigns and Updates
    • Serve as a Dignity Advocate
    • Healthcare Service Teams
  • Donate
    • Give to Dignity:Liberia
    • Donate Supplies
    • Our Wishlist
    • Meet Our Supporters
  • News
    • Let's Palava
    • Board Access (restricted)
    • Photos
  • Contact

A Long Walk for Help

10/14/2019

1 Comment

 
Picture
As I read the notes of the ladies who visited Cooper Town, I thought a lot about how long it took them to get there:  “more than an hour’s drive over paved road, then a dirt road, then boarded bridges” followed by a 4-mile walk that included crossing five log bridges; some with handrails, others without. 
 
It was quite a memorable adventure for the team members.  It wouldn’t be an adventure for a woman trying to make it to a clinic after having been in labor for 2 (or more) days.  It would be a nightmare!  Could a woman in labor make it across one log bridge, let alone five? 
 
I do not know if any residents of Cooper Town got a fistula while giving birth, but many of the women and girls we’ve met – fistula survivors as well as those still waiting for fistula repair – come from villages that are just as remote – so remote that there is no cell reception. 
 
Because they are poor, they give birth with the aid of an elderly woman who has no medical training.  If they need help, they can’t pull out a cell phone and call for an ambulance.  Only with great difficulty can their families get them to a clinic.   
 
This is why Dignity:Liberia is raising funds to build House of Hope and Dignity, a maternity waiting home in rural Liberia.  Women in remote areas will be able to spend the last week of their pregnancy at the home, and if necessary, be transferred to a hospital to give birth, preventing the devastating physical and emotional pain caused by a fistula.  For many women, having a safe place to stay in close proximity to professional medical support could mean the difference between suffering a fistula or avoiding it. 

Picture

Kathy Beth Stavinoha

Kathy Beth lives and works in Austin, TX.  She graduated from high school in Monrovia, Liberia in 1977.

1 Comment

    Categories

    All
    Dignity Advocate Teams
    In A Fistula Survivor's Voice
    Trips

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017

    RSS Feed


    Visit our photo gallery >
 
Bringing restoration and hope to women with fistula and their communities 
through healing, education, and prevention.

Let's  end fistula together

Follow. Like. Share.
Dignity:Liberia is a 501(c)3 not for profit corporation. 
Donations made to Dignity:Liberia are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
© 2020  Dignity: Liberia
Web Design + Development by The Brave Creative