July 3rd

The following message was received from Martha Wood:

Thanks so much Becky! I am keeping my fingers crossed!! I wanted to attach the email I wrote home for you….it is below…I’m realizing that there is a Phase III as well (which I believe is community outreach/education, but I didn’t include it here b/c I wasn’t sure…)… Thank you so much for everything, again. You have inspired me so much and I hope I stay so that I may help you out, A LOT!

Besos bella,

Martha

P.S. How is Bunna!?

—- Dearest friends and family,

Fate has a strange way of happening — either that or it was lucky chance. Whatever it was, I had an amazing experience this week that I wish to share with you…

Wednesday evening after work I started walking towards the hill outside my office to the main road to catch a taxi home. As we are now in the middle of the rainy season here, the wetness combined with the altitude makes for pretty cold days, and even cooler and miserable evenings. At the base of the base of the hill runs a small creek that serves as a trash dump and sewer all-in-one. A group of boys were around one heap (containing god only knows what kind of rotting stuff), throwing stones and poking sticks at a small puppy trying to burrow its way into the trash for shelter. I lost it … which doesn’t happen all too often, but does from time to time. The dog was tiny, and by my untrained guess, I’d say about eight weeks old. How can people treat animals that way, and in this case such a baby?! Of course I had to make a spectacle of myself by swearing at the boys in Amharic and drawing a crowd as I launched myself onto the heap and burrowed myself through the trash after the dog. I had two old men laughing at me, and as I walked off I turned around for one last how-dare-you glare; I had a fire in my belly stronger than I’ve had in a long while.

Great. Now what am I going to do? A dog, in a guest house, with a guest (thank god my guest is my closest friend here who was staying with me for a few days before leaving to visit her family in Italy — she happened to not only love dogs, but also knew a lot about puppy training 101 — Elizabeth, you’re the greatest!). Well, first thing is first, we had a dinner party to go to with the sister-in-law of a friend, of a close friend, of my mother’s, who is now living in Ethiopia — amazing how that all works!

As Elizabeth and I sat shoveling down farenji hour’derves we hadn’t eaten in a collective three years, we contemplated about what in the hell I was possibly going to do with the new pooch. And then…in walked Becky, a stunning woman in a hot pink flowered skirt and black high-heeled boots — perhaps the most impractical outfit possible for the mountains of mud and unpaved messes of streets here, yet also the most fabulous and gorgeous look ever (my god mother used to tell me that “beauty is pain” — I wonder if this is what she meant!?).

Anyway, Becky is a bombshell of a pink Cadillac driving Mary Kay saleswoman, Colorado Springs native. She is not only smart-as-a-whip and runway stylish, but she is one of the warmest and kindest people I have ever met — a true Cosmopolitanesque Mother Theresa. Years ago, while traveling through Ethiopia as a tourist, Becky was struck by the poverty, especially the plight of women. When she returned home, Becky said she couldn’t sleep for days, feeling as though she had to do something.

A couple of years later, her “something” has blossomed into the beautiful project called “The Tramped Rose,” a home dedicated to sheltering, caring for and educating women awaiting fistula operations.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me back up for a minute to explain to those who may not have heard of obstetric fistula before. In a nutshell, fistula it is a morbidity that results from prolonged or obstructed labor. Essentially, when a woman has difficulty giving birth, the powerful engine that is the uterus keeps pounding into the baby’s bottom to push it out, but in some cases to no avail. As a result, the baby’s head pushes against the soft tissues between the vaginal canal and the pubic bone and/or the rectum, cutting off the blood supply to that area. If the baby’s head continues this pressure for a period of three or more hours, the tissue begins to die and creates a permanent fissure between the bladder and/or rectum. The physiological result is constant leakage of urine, feces or both, and increased susceptibility to urinary tract infections and more. The psychosocial consequences are extreme. Not only do most fistula victims have to suffer the anguish of losing the pregnancy, but many are also disowned by their families, divorced by their husbands, lose custody of living children, and are frequently confined to isolated areas out of shame or simply thrown out onto the street to survive on their own. This shame has grave mental health effects and many suffer from depression and social anxieties.

In the west, given our advantageous access to emergency obstetric care, skilled delivery at birth and healthy nutritional status, fistula has been eradicated. In Ethiopia, however, there are currently an estimated 100,000+ women suffering from fistula, with an additional 10,000 new cases per year. Addis Ababa is home to the famous, fabulous, Oprah supported, Hamlin Fistula Hospital. This facility is amazing, however, with daily operations and round-the-clock care, the hospital can only repair between 1,000 to 1,500 fistulae per year, as the surgery is lengthy and may take multiple surgeries to repair.

….and then there are those that are suffering from such complex fistulae that they can never be repaired….

…and this is where Becky and the Trampled Rose come in…The Trampled Rose is a place designed to provide women with fistula with a home, a loving environment, an education and vocational skills while they wait for their surgeries. The project has two phases and purposes. The first is the house where women initially go when they arrive. The main pillars of this establishment are a) LOVE and RESPECT — show women they are loved and that they will never have to live in the abusive situations where many came from again, b) beef-up their nutritional status — the women are encouraged to eat as much as they would like, whenever they would like, to ready their bodies for their surgeries, c) hygiene - women are taught how to care for their fistulas including frequent washing and pad making (they take nylons, cut them off at the legs and stuff them with gauze — they can wash and reuse these daily), d) addressing any other outstanding medical needs the women may have prior to their surgeries and e) literacy classes. Almost all 510 women who have arrived at the doors of The Trampled Rose since 2006 were illiterate when they arrived. Women in the Phase I typically stay for sixth months to a year.

The second phase is for women who have had the surgery but do not feel able to return to their villages, for women who cannot be repaired, or for women still on the waiting list after an extended period of time. The women have homes and are in groups of four. They raise income via a number of means including baking and selling injera, braiding hair, basketry and knitting. Via these projects, each woman earns approximately 200 Birr or $22 USD per month which makes an 800 Birr ($88 USD) per month average for each household. The women then support themselves on this money (food, rent, clothing, etc.). Becky provides classes for them on budgeting, how to use public transport, vocational skills, etc., but for the most part Phase II is designed to move the women into a self-sustainable mode. It is beautiful to see. The women have an air of self confidence at this point that is intoxicating = They can do it, and they have been proving it to themselves month after month. In fact, of the 510 women taken in, only three have dropped out of the program. Those of you who do similar work know that this is an incredible feat.

So, after much conversation with Becky over dinner at the party, we set up a visit. And, this weekend Elizabeth, a lovely VSO worker Judith, and I had the pleasure of visiting Becky and the homes. Given the precarious dog situation, I was forced to take Bunna (the puppy’s name which means “coffee” in Amharic) with me - if she were discovered I would be thrown out for sure. As we exited the car a young girl walked over and held her hands out and quietly asked if she could hold the dog. As it turns out, she had arrived only the day before after being discovered by a neighbor. She had been living as a child slave in Addis Ababa and has been severely abused. She cared for Bunna as if she were her own child, and never let the dog out of her sight, even when the other women were cooing and gushing over her. Becky said it was perfect timing, that the girl really needed something to care for and to love. As we left, I told her that the dog was a gift for her. She thanked me and then bent down and kissed Bunna on the head, who was now cradled and sleeping in her arms. I was soooooooooooooo relieved. It couldn’t have ended any better.

Overall, my Trampled Rose experience was incredible. Becky’s caring spirit is as infectious as they come, the women were warm and inviting, and it rejuvenated my sense of purpose. We were able to see the homes, learn about the women’s daily routines, ask loads of questions, talk and hug a whole lot, and were treated to two coffee ceremonies.

I am proud to be living and working in Ethiopia. I love this country, I love Ethiopians, and I am so grateful for people like Becky who have dedicated their lives to work towards alleviating suffering and contributing to the beautiful thing that is human compassion. The fruits of her efforts are astounding, and I promise any future visitors (if I end up staying) a visit to the homes. You will leave with an experience you’ll never forget. Oh yes, and the added bonus of seeing Bunna, the precious dog Elizabeth and I fostered for a few brief days!

If any of you want to visit Becky’s website it is http://www.trampledrose.org/Index.htm. Not only does she guarantee that 100% of the donations received go to the project, but also 100% of her own Mary Kay salary that she earns during the four months of the year she spends in the States (the other eight months are spent in Ethiopia volunteering with the project) goes to the project as well. If you are interested, you can give anything you would like, no matter how big or small, and all donations are tax deductible. Another neat option available is to sponsor a house. A house costs 1,300 USD ($100 USD per month for Ethiopia’s 13 months) which is used to provide a house and initial seed money for a project for a group of women (Phase II). We saw houses sponsored by groups of people ranging from a Fraternity in Oklahoma in memory of a house member who passed away, to a mother who dedicated a room to two of her daughters who were killed in a car accident. You absolutely DO NOT have to give anything, but I sometimes know it is hard for people who want to, but are unsure of where their money is going. This is a really incredible project that works to get women’s feet on the ground and is thus not designed for long-term support. Once established, settled and moving, the women are required to support themselves. I wanted to provide the information to those of you who might be interested, and just b/c I loved her story and the story of how Bunna found a home!

On an ending note, Becky has been nominated for the “Energizer Bunny” Award. You can go online and vote for her once a day at http://energizerkeepgoinghalloffame.com/. If she wins, Energizer Bunny will donate 15,000 USD to the Trampled Rose!

This has turned into a really long email, so thanks for hanging in there with me. My experience at the Trampled Rose has reminded me, yet again, of how lucky I am. I am so grateful for all of the wonderful people in my life who have helped me become who I am. I would never be here without your love and support.

Millions of hugs to you all!!

Martha