Holistic Model:
Four Pillars of Action
Our Local Partners embrace a Holistic Model to protect and restore women’s health
Holistic Model: Four Pillars of Action
Our local partners embrace this Four Pillar Holistic Model to address all the obstacles to protecting and restoring the health of women by preventing and treating childbirth injury.
In sub-Saharan Africa, societal ignorance of childbirth injury causes, treatment availability, and prevention contribute to a woman’s prolonged suffering, feelings of rejection and shame. Treatment goes beyond surgery and may require physical therapy. Social reintegration may include counseling, basic literacy and credit & savings education, economic empowerment, and Solidarity Group participation. Survivors are eager to prevent the suffering of other women. Our reintegration programs provide advocacy training for patient outreach and community prevention messaging to spread the word.
Rural Patient Outreach
The women we serve may not know their fistula, Pelvic organ prolapse, or other childbirth injury can be treated and cured. Many women live in remote villages across wide geographical regions. Our local partners identify women in need by conducting intensive community outreach.
Rural Patient Outreach
The women we serve may not know their fistula, Pelvic organ prolapse, or other childbirth injury can be treated and cured. Many women live in remote villages across wide geographical regions. Our local partners identify women in need by conducting intensive community outreach.
Social Reintegration
After treatment, fistula survivors, who HAD been shunned and isolated, need help REINTEGRATING back into their communities. We educate survivors in their rights as women, credit and savings activities, how to form solidarity groups, protecting their health and childbirth injury prevention. Solidarity groups back in their communities provide mutual psychological support and opportunities to join together for economic empowerment. Women launch small business ventures or Income Generating Activities (IGAs) both individually and as a group.
Community Efforts Grow Awareness
Many women suffering with childbirth injuries live in remote villages of poor countries. They are often unaware of treatment availability. We know once cured, fistula survivors are eager to prevent other women from suffering as they did. We build networks of trained volunteer-advocates to increase awareness that treatment is available and to prevent injuries by educating communities about good maternal health practices that save lives.
5,930+
Free Surgeries
1,907,520+
Community members reached with prevention and free treatment education
4,320+
Pelvic floor surgeries/interventions by Urogynecology Fellows in Ethiopia
3,940+
Survivors reintegrated back into their communities
1,760+
Survivors running new small businesses individually and in solidarity groups
