SalaamGarage joined forces with Blurb...

The book is out.  100% of the proceeds go directly to Hamlin Hosptial and help continue their midwifery program

A bit more about the college......

The Midwifery college is a critical tool to reach their long-term goal of reducing child birth injuries and deaths and eventually eradicate obstetric fistula.  Obstetric Fistula was largely eliminated in the western world  because of access to pre & post natal care. Hamlin would like to make this a reality in Ethiopia

The college continues to recruits young female students in the countryside to train and board them for the 3-4 years of the college.  Then the young woman, now experienced midwives, return to their home towns to provide care where it is needed the most.  

The long journeys women make from all over Ethiopia to Hamlin Hospital is costly and so often only made after treatment is desperately needed.  Moving the midwives closer to the need will allow women to seek pre natal care and care throughout their pregnancy.

Sofia's Story

Sofia is 18 years old. She is back at Hamlin Hospital to hopefully be repaired once again.

Her first visit to Hamlin at 15 years old was with the birth her 1st child. She suffered a prolonged labor before she made it to her nearest hospital in western Ethiopia where her child was delivered still born and by caesarian. She was left with fistulas and leaking urine. They referred her to the Hamlin Hospital.

Sofiaʼs husband was there for her. He found missionaries who took her to Hamlin where she stayed for 9 months and received treatment and care until her fistulas repaired. She waited, “stayed” for 2 years till she conceived again. This time she arrived at her local hospital in the west and her beautiful baby boy was delivered by caesarian.

She realised later she was leaking urine again and made another journey to Hamlin hospital. I met her on her 15th day at Hamlin. She was overflowing love for her precious baby boy. I told her of my niece a little older that her with 2 children and extremely happy with her family. She lit up as she held her son and said how happy she was too to have her boy. It seemed she felt extremely lucky after her first child birth experience.

All the women in the ward were awaiting the births and were hopeful for more children after this. Sofia was different in this respect. When I asked her if she if she wanted more children, she said” for now he is enough but who knows what the future will bring” . After 2 caesarians and 2 fistulas Sofia was a little worn out. Hamlin was a place that offered immediate expert care for fistulas and the much needed rest she need to get well.

In Ethiopia having children is a great blessing and a sign of wealth and prosperity.

Hamlin gives support to mothers and mothers to be, to continue to be a vital members of their community. Hamlin aim to continue and expand their Midwifery training in order to have experts at hand closer to villages and towns like the one where Sofia lives.

 More Stories from our trip and other great photographer can be found in our book Hamlin Fistula and SalaamGarage. All the proceeds from this book go directly to The Hamlin Hospital through Blurb for good. See the link below

http://www.blurb.com/books/2072185

Meet Sofia

  I met Sofia on my 3rd day at Hamlin.  She spoke quietly and held her son close to her chest.

Sofia, like the others was optimistic about her future but a little sadness was apparent.
She had been repaired once and was now back as she had fistulas once again after the birth of her beautiful son.

She had not returned to Hamlin for the birth,  she had a caesarian which may have been the right course for her but unfortunately she sustained a small fistula during the birth.

One of the tools that Hamlin can provide their midwives is work experience.  They will have attended and taken part in many more births and will have the additional experience of dealing with ladies who have had fistulas before.  This is invaluable experience for the women on the maternity ward.

 More of Sofia's story will appear in the next few postings

Tesfanesch's story...

Tesfanesh was born in the west, in a rural village.  She was married and had her first child at 12 years old.  One of the chief causes of Fistula and makes it so prevalent in rural areas is that girls are getting married and having children at such a young age.   The body has not developed enough to handle the rigors of childbirth and many problems can occur as a result.  Tesfanesh was lucky in the first birth but soon after, she got pregnant for the second time.  

This time her labor was severely protracted, going on for many days with continuous contractions, until eventually she gave birth to a stillborn baby.  The effect on her young body was severe.  She sustained damage to her bladder and was left with a fistula that leaked urine continuously.  Unable or unwilling to provide the support she needed, her husband abandoned her.

For many women in the past, this could be the end of the story but things are changing and for Tesfanesh things started to turn for the better.  She met her new husband, who was supportive of her situation and prepared to help.

She then heard about Hamlin Hospital.  Determined to get help she set off on her long journey.  She walked for 1 day with relatives supporting her to the bus and then travelled for 1 day by bus and then walked to the hospital.  It took her over 48 hours.

I do not know much about her time at Hamlin the first time but she had an successful operation and with time returned her home to her family.

Now back once again for the birth of her 3rd child, Tesfanesh moves around the hospital with ease, chatting and sewing with 7 women, all with the same experience as her own.  Their shared past has brought the women together forging friendships and community as they all look forward to the birth of another child together.

In Ethiopia the trend for young women to marry young is slowly changing with women like Tesfanesh who now want a different life for her future daughters; to wait for marriage and children.

I would like to introduce you to Tesfanesh

Tesfanesh was the first woman I met at Hamlin and she smiles as she shows me her amulet, which in Ethiopian lore provides protection.  She is animated as we talk and she tells me about her family and her first visit to Hamlin.


She is 28 years old and has a wonderful 16 year old son.  


Optimism flows from Tesfanesch as she is excited for her third child that she will give birth to here within the supportive environment of Hamlin hospital.  But her life was not always so,  her second child was still born and left her with fistulae.

My First Day at Hamlin Hospital

My time at Hamlin Hospital began with a visit to the maternity ward, where I would be spending the next 2-3 days.


The ladies here have all been to Hamlin before.  They all have had fistulas from previous pregnancies and have returned to ensure they have a safe and healthy labor, with emergency care at the ready if needed.


All the women who come to Hamlin are asked to to return if they become pregnant again, as they are more susceptible to a recurrence of fistulas.


I get the sense from the smiles that greet me, that they feel safe and happy to be back.

Helloo Again.....

Just to skip back a little a bit, to the beginning.

I stepped off the plane into Addis and was greeted with a strong inviting smell of smoky incense.  It was a warm welcome to Ethiopia.  I had arrived and it felt good to be there.

We took a trip the following day to our first church, many more were to come and what hit me was the amazing landscapes of endless hills and thick fauna that stretched out before me from the top of the city. This also would the first of many amazing views that I would encounter in Ethiopia.