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Stories of Hope

March 12, 2024
Meet Firomi: A senior Hamlin midwife 

Firomi Shume is one of our dedicated and passionate Hamlin midwives working to prevent fistula and maternal death.  Now 26 years old, Firomi was born and raised in Mettu, a small town in West Ethiopia where one of the five Hamlin regional hospitals is located. It was from here that she was recruited for a […]

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March 12, 2024
Change the life of another woman like Emnet

Paralysis is rarely something a woman in New Zealand experiences as a consequence of childbirth. Yet, in addition to losing her baby and sustaining an obstetric fistula injury, Emnet lost the use of her legs during an agonising and lengthy home birth. Emnet’s injuries were so severe that her life hung in the balance.  Falling […]

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November 20, 2023
Hamlin: A year in snapshot

This past year Hamlin Fistula has achieved more than ever! 3,580 surgeries for obstetric fistula, pelvic organ prolapse and other gynaecological conditions. 96% fistula closure rate - higher than anywhere else in Africa. 84 midwifery centres were supported by Hamlin with essential drugs and equipment, midwife salaries and mentoring. 28,159 women birthed fistula-free in the […]

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October 30, 2023
Challenging times in Tigray

We recently interviewed Hamlin Midwife Mentor Bella, who updated us on the conditions faced by our Hamlin midwives in Tigray.

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October 29, 2023
Conflict and fistula: A heart-breaking reality

An often-untold story is the impact of civil conflict and violence on childbearing women.

Please note this story contains distressing information.

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May 22, 2023
Mulu's joy at being cured after 17 years!

“Look at me now, I am the happiest woman in the world! I walk around with confidence and dignity. Now I can work and change my life.” – Mulu Obstetric fistula stole Mulu’s joy, confidence and relationships for 17 years. Today, because of you, Mulu is regaining her health, happiness and sense of self, after […]

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March 2, 2023
Hope for a family: Miskiya's story

Obstetric fistula can devastate the chances of a woman having marriage and children in the future. Marriages are often broken by the tragedy of losing a first baby in childbirth. With no foreseeable prospects of physical recovery, women are often abandoned by their husbands. Miskiya and Nejat are a story of hope. Miskiya and her […]

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March 1, 2023
Q&A with Behailu: A Hamlin patient identification officer

In 2020, Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia and UNFPA Ethiopia formed a partnership to combine efforts to improve maternal health outcomes for Ethiopian women living with untreated obstetric fistula injuries. This three-year joint project focuses on improving access to fistula for Ethiopian women, as well as reaching more women for screening and referral of cervical cancer. The Patient Identification Program is a key […]

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March 1, 2023
An unsung Kiwi hero

Thirty years on, we remember Dr Reg Hamlin If ever there was an unsung Kiwi hero, it was Dr Reg Hamlin. His impact on obstetric fistula care would spread far and wide and change the lives of tens of thousands of women. His journey began in 1908 in Napier, New Zealand. As a boy, he […]

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November 21, 2022
Thank you for bringing my life back

Birth injuries and stillbirth are a part of the often unseen and uncounted collateral damage of war. This is twenty-five-year-old Fatuma’s story Fatuma is originally from a remote rural village in Northern Ethiopia, a war affected region facing devastating damages from the recent conflict. Traditionally, survival revolves around farming the family land for a subsistence […]

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Help us give hope to every woman.

Keep up to date with our work including the latest news from our programmes in Ethiopia, ways to get involved and how your support is making a difference.
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Hamlin Fistula NZ is committed to providing ongoing support for fistula surgery and for the preventive work of the midwives. The hospital in Addis Ababa has become a centre of excellence to which doctors from other countries come to learn and master the specialist skills of fistula surgery.

Photography credits to Mary F. Calvert, Kate Geraghty, Amber Hooper, Joni Kabana, Joli Wescombe, Natasha Meyer and Martha Tadesse.