Hope for fistula patients

Unless you have walked in the shoes of an obstetric fistula survivor, or come close to (meaning you know someone who consistently leaks urine and faeces and thus walks around with a ‘funny’ smell), you will never fully grasp the pain, suffering and shame that victims and survivors alike battle with every single day.

 One such woman told me she hated visitors so much that any time she heard them knock on her gate and she was alone in the house, she would pretend she was not in.

If any of her children were around, she would get them to lie for her. Teaching her children the art of lying was something she hated, but felt she had no alternative.

 For many, being treated like outcasts, especially by their children, husbands and relatives, was the most painful streak.

Many avoided going to their children’s schools to avoid embarrassing them, an act that further estranged them.

 Obstetric fistula sounds like a foreign word, but it is a bitter reality for many women in Kenya, and it mainly comes about from prolonged labour. After hours, even days of harrowing labour, many of these infants are born dead, adding more pain to the woman. Others are fortunate enough to get other children even as they continue to battle with the condition, but the circumstances of their lives are not pleasant.

 Yet, surgical repair is available for obstetric fistula victims but many are unaware of this, and if they know about it, cannot afford it. So they continue to live in shame and pain for decades.

 It is why I was so happy for Sarah Omega-Olango, one of Kenya’s ambassadors in the fight against obstetric fistula, when she received a Certificate of Commendation during UN Day, as one of the runner-ups of the UN Person of the Year 2013. Sarah received her certificate from the UN Resident Coordinator, Nardos Bekele-Thomas, and the UNON Director General, Sahle-Work Sewde, during a festive ceremony. 

Sarah, aged 37, is an obstetric fistula advocate and survivor. She comes from a humble background, having lost both parents in 1987 and 1989. She was the seventh born of nine siblings and due to financial constraints, Sarah was forced to drop out of school before completing her secondary education.

 Living in a rural home in a region where early marriage was rampant, she decided to run away. Unfortunately, she was brutally raped by a relative and got pregnant. For this, her relatives shunned her.

 During delivery, Sarah laboured for 20 hours as she tried to reach the nearest health facility, where she was then left unattended for another 18 hours before a gynecologist attended to her. Lack of supplies at the facility saw her transferred to a mission hospital miles away, where she had a stillbirth through caesarian section. Two days later she discovered she was leaking urine, but she was discharged despite the condition.

 Living with the fistula brought Sarah humiliation to the extent of self-rejection. She lived a lonely isolated life and suffered from stigmatisation from the community. Sarah lived with the condition for 12 years during which time she felt that her life had lost meaning. She attempted to commit suicide on several occasions, with no success.

 In April 2007, Sarah suffered from depression and was taken to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret for treatment. During the course of treatment, Sarah learnt that she could receive surgical repair for the obstetric fistula in the new theatre established with support from UNFPA Kenya in 2005.

 One month later, Sarah was operated on by Dr Hillary Mabeya. Following the successful surgery, she was finally able to afford a genuine smile after 12 years.

 As a beneficiary of the treatment, UNFPA sponsored her to attend a workshop in London along with other delegates where they were empowered to be Fistula Advocates and to participate in the global “Women Deliver” conference.

In May 2008, she was invited by the US Congress to New York for “Americans for UNFPA” to help raise funds for safe motherhood. She also had a chance to share her story through several media interviews.

 Sarah has been actively involved in the campaign to end fistula, advocating for prevention measures as the most effective way to end fistula. She has led successful community awareness initiatives on obstetric fistula in the midst of a culture where public speaking on reproductive health is a taboo.

 Sarah was nominated as the Kenya spokesperson for the campaign to end obstetric fistula in Kenya. On the first UN International Day to End Obstetric Fistula held on May 23, 2013 in Eldoret, Sarah was championed as the symbol of hope.

 On June 8, 2013, Sarah got married in a colourful wedding ceremony in Eldoret to Mr. Kennedy Olang’o, becoming a beacon of hope to all women living with obstetric fistula by demonstrating that survivors can find love again.

 Sarah continues to mobilise funds for the obstetric fistula surgical repairs and raise awareness in Western Kenya. To date, her interventions have seen hundreds of women undergo successful surgeries.