Fistula Survivor’s Name:  Mommy Doleseh
Interview Date:  September 4, 2018
Interview Location:  Phebe Rehab Center, Bong County, Liberia
Interviewers:  Kathy Beth Stavinoha and Kathi Gutierrez
 
Mommy Doleseh is 37 years old.  She was born and raised in Nimba and lived in a village in the interior.  She no longer has a family.  Before the fistula, she had parents, three brothers, and two sisters.  The family did not care for her once she got her fistula.  They disowned her.  Her family’s abandonment is what hurt her the most.
 
Mommy got her fistula in 1995; her fistula was repaired in 2018.  She had two surgeries before she was healed.  She had her fistula operations in Sanniquelle.  She is dry now. 
 
She got her fistula from prolonged labor (“the baby trying to come out for a long time.”).  After being in labor for 2 days in the midwife’s* house, she was taken to Ganta Hospital.  She has not given birth since her fistula and she has no other children.   
 
She learned Tailoring as her skill at the Phebe Rehabilitation Center.  She plans to return to Nimba to live with her family and open a tailoring shop.  Her favorite color is green.  It is her color.   
 
She has a friend in Nimba who has a fistula.  She will tell her to come to the Rehab Center so she can be healed and learn a trade.  If her friend did not already have a fistula, she would tell her to go to the hospital to deliver her baby.
 
Mommy appreciates the support they receive from Dignity:Liberia.  Their friends and parents will not come close to them but we will and it makes them happy. 
 
Mommy is a fistula survivor.  Hear her story in her own voice.

*The midwife referenced in this interview is a tribal birth attendant who is not medically trained.

Because of my dad's job, I grew up living in five countries (in addition to the United States).  Cultural differences exposed me to a number of different Christmas traditions.  The ornaments I collected from each country are lovingly hung on my tree and a variety of Nativity sets are set up around the house. 
 
In December 1977, I was a freshman in college in Texas.  I had a rather unusual experience on the flights I took to Liberia in order to celebrate Christmas with my family.  Shortly before the semester break, I received a letter from my mom telling me to keep an eye out for a girl named Suzie who was going to be traveling to Liberia to see her parents who had moved there while she was in school.  I thought I might meet her at JFK Airport, as there were not that many flights to Liberia each week.  I was very surprised to meet her on my domestic flight!  At our stop in DC, on the way to JFK, a girl my age got on the plane.  After she settled in a seat in my aisle, I asked her where she was heading.  She replied, “Liberia.”  I asked, “Is your name Suzie?”  She was surprised that I knew her name.
 
At JFK, while we waited to board our Pan Am flight, I ran into David Copal.  Peggy, a girl I met in college had known him when they both lived in Greece as children.  David was excited to hear that Peggy was still alive as she needed a heart and lung transplant and she was not expected to live into adulthood.  (Sadly, both David and Peggy have since passed away.) 
 
I then ran into another classmate at the airport and a third one after we got on the plane.  The reunions weren’t over.  As we were getting off the plane to stretch our legs at our stop in Senegal, I heard a voice behind me ask, "Kathy Beth?  Kathy Beth Macdonald?"  I was being hailed by a classmate I hadn't seen since 7th grade in Karachi, Pakistan!   I introduced Suzie to all of them. 
 
When we disembarked at Robertsfield, I was disappointed not to see my parents in the terminal.  Suzie's parents were there and informed me that my parents had left, because my name wasn’t on the flight manifest.  (I've no idea.)  They gave me a ride to our house in Sinkor, stopping on the way to call via radio patch to telephone. 
 
Do you have a favorite Christmas memory?  Whether or not it's associated with Liberia, we would love to hear about it.  Please email your memory (1 - 3 paragraphs) to [email protected].  We will be sharing some of your Christmas memories on our Facebook page through December 22nd.   
 
Merry Christmas!

Fistula Survivor’s Name:  Helena Johnson
Interview Date:  September 4, 2018
Interview Location:  Phebe Rehab Center, Bong County, Liberia
Interviewers:  Kathy Beth Stavinoha and Kathi Gutierrez

Helena Johnson is 24 years old.  Born in Bong County, she grew up in Monrovia, located in Montserrado County.  Her mother is dead.  Her father lives in Gbarnga (“Banga”) but she has not seen him in a long time.  She has four brothers.  She has one child, a daughter.  Her baby son died with her mother.
 
Helena got her fistula when she was 22 years old.  When she went into labor, she first saw a midwife.*  The midwife pressed on her stomach, put things in her mouth, and did other things to try to deliver the baby.  After being in labor for 3 days, Helena was taken to Rennie Hospital in Kakata where they operated on her.  However, before they reached the hospital, she developed a fistula.   
 
She is no longer leaking.  After 2 years, she had a fistula repair surgery.  It took only one surgery to clear up her fistula and now she is dry. 
 
She didn’t like being wet all the time.  The hardest thing about having a fistula was that her clothes kept getting dirty; she had lots of laundry. 
 
At the Rehabilitation Center, she chose to study cosmetology for her trade.  After graduation, she plans to return to Monrovia to open up a cosmetology shop and to live her life
 
Helena would tell her friends “they shouldn’t be like me.”  She would encourage them to go to the hospital to give birth.
 
She has gone through 7th grade but couldn’t continue because she has no money.  For her future, she wants to focus on school.  Then she could do things for her children. 
 
Helena is a fistula survivor.  Hear her story in her own voice.

* The midwife referenced in this interview refers to a “traditional midwife” or a tribal birth attendant who has no medical training.