Dr Catherine Hamlin honoured in Ethiopia
Anomi alongside Dr Catherine Hamlin in 2012
The Catherine Hamlin Fistula Foundation last month celebrated 60 years of Dr Catherine Hamlin’s life-changing work in Ethiopia, with a ceremony that included Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The Prime Minister presented Catherine with a prestigious Good Citizen award on behalf of the Ethiopian government, making her one of only three people to ever receive the accolade.
There were many moving speeches on the day dedicated to Catherine’s years of service uplifting marginalised women in Ethiopia by combatting the medically and often socially devastating effects of obstetric fistula, a condition common in the developing world that can be brought on by childbirth and often results in an excruciatingly painful labor process as well as ongoing incontinence.
For every one woman that receives treatment for her fistula, an astonishing fifty women go without treatment and are frequently outcast from their communities due to cultural stigma surrounding incontinence and the lasting odour that can afflict sufferers.
Dr Catherine and her late husband Dr Reg Hamlin first arrived in Ethiopia in 1959 from Australia, and went on to found the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital which has since treated over 60,000 women with fistula injuries.
Since reading Catherine’s book, The Hospital By The River, I have supported the Hospital through donations, fundraising and holding events to raise awareness of the work at the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital. I had the pleasure of visiting the hospital in Ethiopia in 2010 and meeting Dr Catherine Hamlin on several occasions. After visiting the hospital, I was especially touched by the extraordinary efforts of the only hospital in the world that is dedicated exclusively to treating women with obstetric fistula.
Dr. Catherine’s dream is to eradicate fistula in Ethiopia by 2030. I am supporting this very worthwhile cause, and I ask that you also consider making a tax-free donation before June 30 2019. Please donate at https://hamlin.org.au/how-you-can-help/donate/
You can help restore lives and achieve Catherine’s dream of eradicating Fistula