A high-impact partnership between Terrewode and Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) is helping women outcast by their society.
According to World Health Organisation estimates, over 2 million women and girls worldwide are living with untreated fistulas, a condition that involves the constant flow of urine following an obstructed labour. In many countries where women give birth without access to medical assistance, fistulas cause discrimination, isolation and can even lead to loss of life.
In rural Uganda, 1,329 women and girls have received transformative fistula surgery at a unique treatment centre, assisted by humanitarian air services provided by MAF. Surgeons can reach Terrewode Women’s Community Hospital in Soroti in under an hour, avoiding a day travelling from Kampala by road. Terrewode is a non-governmental organisation offering health opportunities for women in Uganda.
The remote centre is the first and only specialised health facility dedicated to providing help to women suffering from obstetric fistula in the country – where it’s thought at least 200,000 women and girls suffer the debilitating condition. Patients have ranged from the age of 10 to 64 – the eldest having suffered from a fistula for 17 years.
MAF passenger Dr Fekade Ayenechew can step off the plane and straight into the operating theatre – significantly increasing the impact of her mission. She said: “When I fly with MAF, I have a full working day. If I drive, I won’t do anything on that day.”
Irene Ayinyo
The impact of fistula surgery is undeniable – as demonstrated by 16-year-old patient Irene Ayinyo, who is now a caretaker at Terrewode Hospital. Irene lost her mother last year and fled an abusive stepmother, falling pregnant at the age of 15. Abandoned by her boyfriend, Irene had no money to access an emergency C-section. She lost her baby and her uterus.
Knowing she would never be able to bear children, Irene attempted suicide multiple times. She said, “For so long, I prayed to God to give me another uterus. No man will want to marry me if I can’t produce a child.”
After receiving fistula surgery and ongoing support at Terrewode, Irene is encouraging other women to come forward for help. She is unlikely to be able to have children, but is no longer suicidal, and no longer suffers the humiliating symptoms she previously had to endure. She said: “I thank Terrewode because they operated on me without asking for money. It is because of them that I am alive.”
