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So I was sitting here thinking about what I wanted for Christmas this year. I came up with a few things too - A new backpack or maybe a nice beard trimming kit. I don't really need a whole lot to make me happy. I don't really collect anything and at this point in my life as long as I have people around me I am happy.
But this year I realized there IS something I would really like to do this Christmas. Recently I watched the PBS Documentary "A Walk To Beautiful."The film documents the struggles of several women in Ethiopia who are making their way to the capital, Addis Ababa, to get treatment for obstetric fistula, which is a life-shattering complication of childbirth that effects upwards of 50,000 to 100,000 women each year.
Watching this documentary, I felt a compulsive need to do something. So I began to search online for ways that I could help. That is where I found The Fistula Foundation. Here is a little bit of background taken from their website to help inform my friends on exactly what a fistula is and the adverse effects it has on the women who suffer from it.
(From fistulafoundation.org)
What is a fistula?
A fistula is a hole. An obstetric fistula of the kind that occurs in many developing countries is a hole between a woman’s vagina and one or more of her internal organs. This hole develops over many days of obstructed labor, when the pressure of the baby’s head against the mother’s pelvis cuts off blood supply to delicate tissues in the region. The dead tissue falls away and the woman is left with a hole between her vagina and her bladder (called a vesicovaginal fistula or VVF) and sometimes between her vagina and rectum (rectovaginal fistula, RVF). This hole results in permanent incontinence of urine and/or feces. A majority of women who develop fistulas are abandoned by their husbands and ostracized by their communities because of their foul smell. Traumatic fistula is the result of sexual violence. The injury can occur through rape or women being butchered from the inside with bayonets, wood or even rifles. The aim of sexual violence is to destroy the women and the community within which the sufferer lives. Once committed, the survivor, her husband, children and extended family become traumatized and humiliated. The Panzi Hospital in Congo is a pioneer in treating victims of traumatic fistula, and Fistula Foundation is proud to support their work.
What are the causes obstetric fistula?
A fistula results from an obstructed labor that is left unrelieved and untreated. It is estimated that 5% of all pregnant women worldwide will experience obstructed labor. In the United States and other affluent countries, emergency obstetric care is readily available. In many developing countries where there are few hospitals, few doctors, and poor transportation systems, obstructed labor often results in death of the mother. When she survives, there is a great likelihood her child will die and she will develop a fistula. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), there are three delays that contribute to the development of a fistula: delay in seeking medical attention; delay in reaching a medical facility; and delay in receiving medical care once arriving at a health care facility.
Now for the important part....
How much does it cost to treat obstetric fistula?
While $450 isn’t enough for one night’s stay in most hospitals in the United States, it is typically enough to provide one woman with restorative surgery and postoperative care. The approximate average cost per patient is $450 US dollars. This includes surgery, postoperative care and physical rehabilitation. This price estimate is based on average costs reported to Fistula Foundation by our grantees across 25 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. Costs and hospitalization can, however, be far greater for more complicated surgeries such as treating dual vaginal and rectal fistulas.
So that's it. $450 and we can help a woman completely restore her life. So many of these women don't receive the medical attention they need and once they become excommunicated from their communities, many of them live in squalor and many end up committing suicide. We have so much access to obstretics in this country that it's actually it's own industry. We have books and easy access to medical care. We can change a woman's life. This is what I want for Christmas. I would like to raise enough money to cover the cost of one woman's surgery.
I'm asking for donations of any amount to help me get towards my goal of a $450 donation to The Fistula Foundation. I am using GoFundMe because I would like to be able to track how much i've raised and be able to make one complete donation to the foundation rather than several small ones.
Help me get my Christmas Wish. Let's do something good for somebody. Let's change a woman's life.
Take a look at the Fistula Foundation website, and if your heart tells you and your wallet allows, I will be eternally grateful.
Fistula Foundation
- Brandon Beaver
So I was sitting here thinking about what I wanted for Christmas this year. I came up with a few things too - A new backpack or maybe a nice beard trimming kit. I don't really need a whole lot to make me happy. I don't really collect anything and at this point in my life as long as I have people around me I am happy.
But this year I realized there IS something I would really like to do this Christmas. Recently I watched the PBS Documentary "A Walk To Beautiful."The film documents the struggles of several women in Ethiopia who are making their way to the capital, Addis Ababa, to get treatment for obstetric fistula, which is a life-shattering complication of childbirth that effects upwards of 50,000 to 100,000 women each year.
Watching this documentary, I felt a compulsive need to do something. So I began to search online for ways that I could help. That is where I found The Fistula Foundation. Here is a little bit of background taken from their website to help inform my friends on exactly what a fistula is and the adverse effects it has on the women who suffer from it.
(From fistulafoundation.org)
What is a fistula?
A fistula is a hole. An obstetric fistula of the kind that occurs in many developing countries is a hole between a woman’s vagina and one or more of her internal organs. This hole develops over many days of obstructed labor, when the pressure of the baby’s head against the mother’s pelvis cuts off blood supply to delicate tissues in the region. The dead tissue falls away and the woman is left with a hole between her vagina and her bladder (called a vesicovaginal fistula or VVF) and sometimes between her vagina and rectum (rectovaginal fistula, RVF). This hole results in permanent incontinence of urine and/or feces. A majority of women who develop fistulas are abandoned by their husbands and ostracized by their communities because of their foul smell. Traumatic fistula is the result of sexual violence. The injury can occur through rape or women being butchered from the inside with bayonets, wood or even rifles. The aim of sexual violence is to destroy the women and the community within which the sufferer lives. Once committed, the survivor, her husband, children and extended family become traumatized and humiliated. The Panzi Hospital in Congo is a pioneer in treating victims of traumatic fistula, and Fistula Foundation is proud to support their work.
What are the causes obstetric fistula?
A fistula results from an obstructed labor that is left unrelieved and untreated. It is estimated that 5% of all pregnant women worldwide will experience obstructed labor. In the United States and other affluent countries, emergency obstetric care is readily available. In many developing countries where there are few hospitals, few doctors, and poor transportation systems, obstructed labor often results in death of the mother. When she survives, there is a great likelihood her child will die and she will develop a fistula. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), there are three delays that contribute to the development of a fistula: delay in seeking medical attention; delay in reaching a medical facility; and delay in receiving medical care once arriving at a health care facility.
Now for the important part....
How much does it cost to treat obstetric fistula?
While $450 isn’t enough for one night’s stay in most hospitals in the United States, it is typically enough to provide one woman with restorative surgery and postoperative care. The approximate average cost per patient is $450 US dollars. This includes surgery, postoperative care and physical rehabilitation. This price estimate is based on average costs reported to Fistula Foundation by our grantees across 25 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. Costs and hospitalization can, however, be far greater for more complicated surgeries such as treating dual vaginal and rectal fistulas.
So that's it. $450 and we can help a woman completely restore her life. So many of these women don't receive the medical attention they need and once they become excommunicated from their communities, many of them live in squalor and many end up committing suicide. We have so much access to obstretics in this country that it's actually it's own industry. We have books and easy access to medical care. We can change a woman's life. This is what I want for Christmas. I would like to raise enough money to cover the cost of one woman's surgery.
I'm asking for donations of any amount to help me get towards my goal of a $450 donation to The Fistula Foundation. I am using GoFundMe because I would like to be able to track how much i've raised and be able to make one complete donation to the foundation rather than several small ones.
Help me get my Christmas Wish. Let's do something good for somebody. Let's change a woman's life.
Take a look at the Fistula Foundation website, and if your heart tells you and your wallet allows, I will be eternally grateful.
Fistula Foundation
- Brandon Beaver
