Fistula Hospital

Today was our first full day in Ethiopia. We started kinda casually. Part of the group went to exchange money and then to the market. I went with out fearless team leader, Kari Gibson, on a special mission. Kari adopted a baby girl from Ethiopia several years back. You can read all about her experiences on her blog at: http://mycrazyadoption.com. Her daughter was born in Addis Ababa. Kari did have some documentation on her. We tried to trace her steps in hopes of finding her birth mother. We did find a health clinic and some records that show she was there and received some of her vaccinations. It was just so special for Kari to be were her child and the birth mother were together. Other than seeing the excitement on Kari face this excursion was an amazing trip. We were able to get off of the main streets and into the alleys where the people live. I'm sure not too many white get to see this side of the city. The people were all very kind and curious as to why we where there. I had to be careful to get approval before taking pictures. But when they could see themselves many were happy to pose for a shot. The city as a whole is pretty much what I expected. It is busy, dirty, many street vendors, open air butchers, fruit stands and traffic follows no rules. Addis definitely has much more of a Muslim influence than anything we saw in Uganda.

In the afternoon we went to the Fistula Hospital. This hospital deals with womens health issues that I was completely unaware that even existed. I wont go into detail but you can learn about about the fistula procedure at: http://www.hamlinfistula.org. Some women have walked over a 1000 km from Sudan to be treated and all over Ethiopia to be treated. This is pretty much their only chance to once again lead a somewhat normal life. All photographs were strictly prohibited but we got special permission for one person to take pictures and Kari has permission to post about the people and the hospital on her blog site (referenced above). We were able to give each of the patients a special care package. They each received a hand bag with some bracelets, necklaces, candy, fingernail polish and other goodies. Each of us was able to individually deliver these gifts to the ladies. They were incredibly grateful for just someone to touch them and kiss them on the cheek. One lady even got down on her knees in thankfulness praying for us. I have to admit this is the most uncomfortable I've been on this trip.

Watch A Walk to Beautiful, a documentary on Obstetric Fistula and the Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa.