July 11, 2008

In the morning we went to the Fistula Hospital here in Addis. Before our tour we learned about what they do. The hospital performs surgeries on women who have injuries from giving birth. They can sometimes get tears during childbirth and then have no control over bodily fluids leaking out. These women are shunned by society, their community, and their families. Since so many people are uneducated about it, they are seen to be cursed. The hospital performs as many surgeries as neccessary until the patient is healed--if htey can be healed. They also educate the family about it being a medical condition so they can go back and educate the community. The goeal is to get them back to their homes without worry of shunning. If this is not possible or if they annot be healed, the hospital trains them as nurse's aides and provides them with housing and a job.

In the afternoon, we went back to Hannah's Orphanage. I was video taping the arts and crafts stations, but we were running late on time and had to help with the face painting. It was so much fun. We then went to see where the children live. I was actually surprised at how nice they were. Only 2 people to a bed, a dinning room table, and they really weren't that small. There are about 6 or so in each home that live together.