“5000 women giving $50.00
to help 500
suffering women”

Charity raises hope for African women
scarred during child birth

Mercy Ships is asking Australians to consider the two million African women who suffer a life of incontinence from child births gone wrong.

Mercy Ships, is hoping to raise $250,000 to support its fistula campaign which aims to provide life changing surgery to 500 suffering African women.

National director for Mercy Ships, Gary Regazzoli, says the condition affects women, some as young as 13, who experience complications during chid birth and are often cast out of their communities to live a life of begging.

“Women who suffer fistula are known as ‘leaking women’. The condition occurs during child birth leaving a hole between the birth canal and the bladder – the hole is known as a fistula,” Mr Regazzoli said.

“Fistula is the result of an obstructed labour where the baby becomes lodged in the birth canal for days at a time without medical help before delivering a stillborn infant. The damaged and torn tissue of the birth canal creates a hole which extends to the bladder and sometimes the rectum, resulting in the mother becoming incontinent.
 
“The sad part about this condition is that it’s relatively inexpensive to correct at just $500 per surgery but most of these women are cast out of society and don’t have access to the necessary medical treatment.”

Fistular correction surgery takes approximately one hour to complete and two weeks to full recovery and the procedure has a 90% success rate among patients.

Mercy Ships is aiming to raise $250,000 to help treat 500 fistula patients by the end of the year. Volunteer surgeons give up their time to join Mercy Ships and assist with the surgeries.

The fistula campaign is the charity’s major focus for 2008 and underpins the organisation’s commitment to providing health care to the world’s poorest countries.

To support Mercy Ships in their bid to raise money for the fistula campaign, please follow the donation link below.

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