2006.07.11: July 11, 2006: Headlines: COS - Ethiopia: Service: Medicine: NGOs: Fistula: San Jose Mercury News: Ethiopia RPCV Ric Haas founded founded, the Fistula Foundation to help women with fistula in Ethiopia

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Ethiopia: Peace Corps Ethiopia : The Peace Corps in Ethiopia: 2006.07.11: July 11, 2006: Headlines: COS - Ethiopia: Service: Medicine: NGOs: Fistula: San Jose Mercury News: Ethiopia RPCV Ric Haas founded founded, the Fistula Foundation to help women with fistula in Ethiopia

By Admin1 (admin) (ppp-70-245-111-210.dsl.okcyok.swbell.net - 70.245.111.210) on Thursday, July 20, 2006 - 7:31 am: Edit Post

RPCV Ric Haas founded the Fistula Foundation to help women with fistula in Ethiopia

RPCV Ric Haas founded the Fistula Foundation to help women with fistula in Ethiopia

Like most Americans at that time, Haas had no clue the problem existed. Then he and his daughter, Shaleece, visited the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, founded in 1974 by an Australian couple who were both physicians and missionaries. Dr. Catherine Hamlin, now in her 80s, is still performing surgeries there.

RPCV Ric Haas founded the Fistula Foundation to help women with fistula in Ethiopia

Area residents pitch in for Ethiopian women

By Yomi S. Wronge
Mercury News

Caption: The Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, Ethiopia Photo: WHO/P. Virot

Ric Haas' 1999 visit to Ethiopia was meant to be a nostalgia trip, a return to the place he'd worked as a Peace Corps volunteer 30 years earlier.

Instead he was confronted with a horrific medical condition, called obstetric fistula, that dooms women to live as outcasts. The San Jose financial planner came home with a mission: to help those desperate women regain their health and their lives.

``I said, `I live in Silicon Valley, and there's more money there than anywhere in the world,' '' Haas recalled.

Today the group he founded, the Santa Clara-based Fistula Foundation, is the only U.S. source of funding for helping women with fistula in Ethiopia.

Its headquarters on Homestead Road doesn't look like much -- a tiny office with a handful of staff members -- but the foundation has raised more than $6 million and had a big impact on a seemingly intractable health crisis.

Obstetric fistula is an injury caused by long, drawn-out labor, especially in very young women. When blood supply to the vagina and bladder is cut off, tissues die and a hole forms, allowing urine and sometimes feces to leak out uncontrollably. Adding to their misery, their babies usually die.

A thing of the past in the United States and the rest of the developed world, where caesarean sections are available to end difficult labors, obstetric fistula affects an estimated 2 million women in developing countries, according to the World Health Organization.

Life-changing visit

Like most Americans at that time, Haas had no clue the problem existed. Then he and his daughter, Shaleece, visited the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, founded in 1974 by an Australian couple who were both physicians and missionaries. Dr. Catherine Hamlin, now in her 80s, is still performing surgeries there.

More than 25,000 women have since been treated at the hospital; no one is denied care.

Haas said he was blown away by their stories. Many patients had been divorced by their husbands and shunned by their communities. Some had lingered that way for months or years.

``The fistula hospital was this little Garden of Eden,'' Haas said. Full treatment includes surgery, mental health services and, when they're ready, a new dress and a bus ticket home.

Some patients are trained and given jobs as nursing assistants. One of the hospital's first patients, an illiterate woman who stayed on for three decades after her recovery, now performs surgeries.

Dr. Larry William, an internist and oncologist from Los Altos Hills who serves on the foundation board, took photos of the hospital and its patients that were sold at a benefit in May, raising close to $8,000.

In one poignant image, four patients sit in a row before having surgery, puddles of urine beneath their feet.

``These pictures are always taken in an enormous hurry with people I didn't know before,'' William said. ``They were done through sign language and pantomime. It often astonishes me what comes out of that camera.''

On an international level, the Campaign to End Fistula, a global initiative of the United Nations Population Fund, has raised $9.8 million since 2003, most of it from governments. It covers 35 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the Mideast.

Fistula is ``an important issue on its own and as a barometer of women's maternal health around the world,'' said Kate Ramsey, spokeswoman for campaign. But she said it will take a lot of time and sustained investment to build a solid medical infrastructure, such as the one in Ethiopia, to stem the rate of 100,000 new fistula cases annually around the world.

In countries such as Eritrea that lack that infrastructure, fistula patients rely on teams of traveling surgeons who visit a few times a year.

``A month before we go there, the Ministry of Health sends out radio announcements and all these women come together at this one hospital,'' said Dr. Amreen Husain, a gynecologist and surgeon at Stanford University Medical Center who volunteers with the Stanford Eritrean Women's Project. ``One hundred fifty women come, and we can only operate on so many. They have to get special housing, and we end up taking up a whole hospital, so all the other care gets diverted somewhere else.''

In contrast, the effort in Ethiopia is much more advanced.

Training site

The main hospital has become a training ground for doctors around the world. Women sleep in cozy bungalows on the hospital grounds and enjoy lush gardens. There are plans to open five mini-clinics in remote areas of the country so women don't have to walk for days to find care. It costs about $450 to treat one woman.

Many of those accomplishments are funded by private donors -- people who, in the last three years especially, have come to know about fistula through media coverage or the Oprah Winfrey show, which has twice highlighted the issue.

``What's heartening is Americans are very generous people, and when you open their hearts and minds to fistula, the agony and desperation, their wallets follow,'' said the Fistula Foundation's executive director, Kate Grant.

One Baptist congregation in Detroit collected $25,000. A couple in Arizona has given nearly $7,000 to the Fistula Foundation by way of tithing.

``I'll never forget one letter that came from a woman who had seen Oprah and sent a money order for $12,'' Haas said. The woman was an out-of-work single parent.

San Jose resident Kristi Lassalle also decided to get involved after watching an Oprah episode.

``To imagine having that condition, being a woman myself, I had no words to describe it. I was stunned,'' Lassalle said. She organized a benefit luncheon and invited a few girlfriends. The group donated $1,120.

``My goal was to raise enough money for two women's surgeries,'' Lassalle said. ``We exceeded that.''

Contact Yomi S. Wronge at ywronge@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5744.






When this story was posted in July 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:


Contact PCOLBulletin BoardRegisterSearch PCOLWhat's New?

Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
Jody Olsen is acting Peace Corps Director Date: June 30 2006 No: 920 Jody Olsen is acting Peace Corps Director
The Senate confirmed Gaddi Vasquez to head the FAO on June 30. Jody Olsen will be acting Director until the President makes a permanent appointment. Olsen has been Deputy Director of the Peace Corps since 2002. She has previously served as Chief of Staff for two directors, as regional director for North Africa, Near East, and Asia and the Pacific, and as country director in Togo. She served in Tunisia as a PCV.

Top Stories and Breaking News PCOL Magazine Peace Corps Library RPCV Directory Sign Up

The Peace Corps Library Date: February 24 2006 No: 798 The Peace Corps Library
The Peace Corps Library is now available online with over 40,000 index entries in 500 categories. Looking for a Returned Volunteer? Check our RPCV Directory. New: Sign up to receive PCOL Magazine, our free Monthly Magazine by email. Like to keep up with Peace Corps news as it happens? Sign up to recieve a daily summary of Peace Corps stories from around the world.

Changing the Face of Hunger Date: June 28 2006 No: 915 Changing the Face of Hunger
In his new book, Former Congressman Tony Hall (RPCV Thailand) says humanitarian aid is the most potent weapon the United States can deploy against terrorism. An evangelical Christian, he is a big believer in faith-based organizations in the fight against hunger. Members of Congress have recently recommended that Hall be appointed special envoy to Sudan to focus on ending the genocide in Darfur.

PC will not return to East Timor in 2006 Date: June 8 2006 No: 913 PC will not return to East Timor in 2006
Volunteers serving in East Timor have safely left the country as a result of the recent civil unrest and government instability. Latest: The Peace Corps has informed us that at this time, the Peace Corps has no plans to re-enter the country in 2006. The Peace Corps recently sent a letter offering eligible volunteers the opportunity to reinstate their service in another country.

Chris Dodd considers run for the White House Date: June 3 2006 No: 903 Chris Dodd considers run for the White House
Senator Chris Dodd plans to spend the next six to eight months raising money and reaching out to Democrats around the country to gauge his viability as a candidate. Just how far Dodd can go depends largely on his ability to reach Democrats looking for an alternative to Hillary Clinton. PCOL Comment: Dodd served as a Volunteer in the Dominican Republic and has been one of the strongest supporters of the Peace Corps in Congress.

The RPCV who wrote about Ben Hogan Date: June 6 2006 No: 912 The RPCV who wrote about Ben Hogan
Probably no RPCV has done more to further the Third Goal of the Peace Corps than John Coyne with the Peace Corps Writers web site and newsletter that he and Marian Haley Beil have produced since 1989. Now John returns to writing about his first love - golf in "The Caddie who knew Ben Hogan." Read an excerpt from his novel, an interview with the author and a schedule of his book readings in Maryland and DC this week.

Vasquez testifies before Senate Committee Date: June 3 2006 No: 905 Vasquez testifies before Senate Committee
Director Vasquez testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on his nomination as the new Representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture replacing Tony Hall. He has been the third longest serving Peace Corps Director after Loret Ruppe Miller and Sargent Shriver. PCOL Comment: Read our thanks to Director Vasquez for his service to the Peace Corps.

First Amendment Watch Date: May 4 2006 No: 883 First Amendment Watch
Maine Web Report hit with Federal Lawsuit
Website wins trademark suit against Jerry Falwell

Interview with a Hit Man Date: April 25 2006 No: 880 Interview with a Hit Man
RPCV John Perkins says that for many years he was an "economic hit man" in the world of international finance whose primary job was to convince less developed countries to accept multibillion dollar loans for infrastructure projects that left the recipient countries wallowing in debt and highly vulnerable to outside political and commercial interests. In this exclusive interview for "Peace Corps Online," Colombia RPCV Joanne Roll, author of Remember with Honor, talks to Perkins about his Peace Corps service, his relation with the NSA, "colonization" in Ecuador, the consequences of his work, why he decided to speak out, and what his hopes are for change.

PC Program in Chad temporarily suspended Date: April 14 2006 No: 872 PC Program in Chad temporarily suspended
Director Vasquez announced the temporary suspension of the Peace Corps program in Chad on April 14 and that all 29 Peace Corps volunteers have left the country. With a program dating back forty years (See Page 4 of the April 1966 "Peace Corps Volunteer"), RPCVs hope that volunteers can return to Chad as soon as the situation has stabilized. Congratulations to the Peace Corps for handling the suspension quickly and professionally.

Peace Corps stonewalls on FOIA request Date: April 12 2006 No: 869 Peace Corps stonewalls on FOIA request
The Ashland Daily Tidings reports that Peace Corps has blocked their request for information on the Volkart case. "After the Tidings requested information pertaining to why Volkart was denied the position — on March 2 — the newspaper received a letter from the Peace Corps FOIA officer stating the requested information was protected under an exemption of the act." The Dayton Daily News had similar problems with FOIA requests for their award winning series on Volunteer Safety and Security.

PCOL readership increases 100% Date: April 3 2006 No: 853 PCOL readership increases 100%
Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.

History of the Peace Corps Date: March 18 2006 No: 834 History of the Peace Corps
PCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help.

RPCV admits to abuse while in Peace Corps Date: February 3 2006 No: 780 RPCV admits to abuse while in Peace Corps
Timothy Ronald Obert has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a minor in Costa Rica while serving there as a Peace Corps volunteer. "The Peace Corps has a zero tolerance policy for misconduct that violates the law or standards of conduct established by the Peace Corps," said Peace Corps Director Gaddi H. Vasquez. Could inadequate screening have been partly to blame? Mr. Obert's resume, which he had submitted to the Peace Corps in support of his application to become a Peace Corps Volunteer, showed that he had repeatedly sought and obtained positions working with underprivileged children. Read what RPCVs have to say about this case.

Military Option sparks concerns Date: January 3 2006 No: 773 Military Option sparks concerns
The U.S. military, struggling to fill its voluntary ranks, is allowing recruits to meet part of their reserve military obligations after active duty by serving in the Peace Corps. Read why there is opposition to the program among RPCVs. Director Vasquez says the agency has a long history of accepting qualified applicants who are in inactive military status. John Coyne says "Not only no, but hell no!" and RPCV Chris Matthews leads the debate on "Hardball." Avi Spiegel says Peace Corps is not the place for soldiers while Coleman McCarthy says to Welcome Soldiers to the Peace Corps. Read our poll results. Latest: Congress passed a bill on December 22 including language to remove Peace Corps from the National Call to Service (NCS) military recruitment program

Why blurring the lines puts PCVs in danger Date: October 22 2005 No: 738 Why blurring the lines puts PCVs in danger
When the National Call to Service legislation was amended to include Peace Corps in December of 2002, this country had not yet invaded Iraq and was not in prolonged military engagement in the Middle East, as it is now. Read the story of how one volunteer spent three years in captivity from 1976 to 1980 as the hostage of a insurrection group in Colombia in Joanne Marie Roll's op-ed on why this legislation may put soldier/PCVs in the same kind of danger. Latest: Read the ongoing dialog on the subject.


Read the stories and leave your comments.






Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.

Story Source: San Jose Mercury News

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Ethiopia; Service; Medicine; NGOs; Fistula

PCOL33560
05

By bakoora (212.138.113.24) on Tuesday, August 22, 2006 - 3:10 pm: Edit Post

I am Dr. Bakri El Mahi, Gynaecologist and Fistula Surgeon ,from Sudan,Fistula also is major problem in our country ,we have the second Fistula center in Africa,we look forward to your support. Thanks


Add a Message


This is a public posting area. Enter your username and password if you have an account. Otherwise, enter your full name as your username and leave the password blank. Your e-mail address is optional.
Username:  
Password:
E-mail: