March 14th, 2010

We did it!!!!!!

Tier III is our program going out into the countryside to find the women who have no one else to help them. We realized a few years ago that as horrible as the situation is for women with Fistula in Addis there are much worse situations out in the countryside where most women don’t even realize there is treatment for Fistula, most of the families think the woman has done something horrible to deserve a Fistula as a curse from God.

Thanks to the generous help of Gwadenia (or friends in France) we have been able to start this work vigorously. We have now met with hospitals in three different strategic areas in the countryside to inform them of our program and let them know we are here to help. Yesterday we picked up our first group of four women to bring them to our program. It wasn’t easy. The manager rented a safe car (our new one is still in process grrrrrrrrrrr….) and headed out at 2 am yesterday. He arrived about four hours later and gathered the women to head back. There is only one vehicle per day that passes on this road. Last night on the way back to Addis two tires blew out. So they had to all ride horses to the nearest town where they could get help. Then they rode back and fixed the tires and continued on their journey home. The women are now asleep in their new beds. They are scared as little rabbits but with a glimmer of hope that someone really does care. Thank you because it is all of you that made this day possible for women who had no other way.