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.
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.
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