On my first visit to Ethiopia, there were many moments that moved me deeply. But meeting MulFitu at Hamlin’s Harar Fistula Hospital is something I will carry with me forever.
I met MulFitu shortly after she arrived for surgery. She had been found by Mohammed, one of Hamlin’s Patient Identification Officers, while he was searching for women living with childbirth injuries in remote communities.
When I arrived at the hospital, we sat together under the trees with other patients. MulFitu spoke only a few words to me, but she reached out and held my hand, then leaned in for a hug. Despite the language barrier, there was an immediate warmth and connection.
MulFitu was around the same age as my own teenage daughter. That hit hard. Seeing someone so young, and knowing she had already endured so much, was heartbreaking.
Urine trickled down the inside of her leg as she stood to greet us. It was the first time I had seen the symptoms of fistula in real life, and I found it confronting and deeply emotional. Yet even in that moment, I felt hopeful, because I knew she was now in the right place and help was close.
Through translation, I later learned that her first baby was stillborn after a long and obstructed labour which ruptured her uterus.
After the loss of their baby, her husband distanced himself and never came to see her. His family blamed her for the death, telling him, “She is the one who killed your baby.” MulFitu felt abandoned and alone.
Grief-stricken and deeply ashamed, MulFitu hid from people and descended into ever deepening poverty. “I was a burden to my own family. I used to hide in the sorghum fields and run away from people.”
MulFitu told us: “I didn’t understand what was happening; it just kept flowing. I was told, ‘Fistula has been found in you. There is a place in Harar where it can be treated. They can come and take you.’ I kept waiting until you arrived.”
(photo) My colleague Karen shows MulFitu how her story would be shared with our supporters.
When a patient bravely shares her story, we ask her to choose a different name to protect her identity. MulFitu chose this name because it means “to be seen” — which is exactly how she felt when she arrived at Hamlin.
From the moment she reached the hospital, everything changed.
“My family is very poor. I came here without having a single cent. From the moment I arrived I was comforted and given food and water. I took a shower and put on a new gown. I walk around feeling free and I say to myself, everyone here is like this, I will also be healed. Now I walk with joy." - MulFitu
- MulFitu
Meeting MulFitu was incredibly special. I saw her vulnerability, but also her courage and quiet strength. After meeting her, I knew I would carry her story in my heart long after I returned home.
Her healing is provided free because of supporters like you. And she wanted to share her gratitude:
“You have made it possible for us to be healed and to return to our normal lives. Thank you to all of you.”
On my first trip to Ethiopia, MulFitu helped me understand, in the most personal way, why this work matters so much.
Jayne Rattray,
Fundraising Manager, Hamlin Fistula New Zealand
