I couldn't be more excited about this post. My friend Jen is very involved with the non-profit organization One by One and is so passionate about their work that she has inspired a new awareness in myself and our other friends about Obstetric Fistula and what we can do to help. Here she reaches another audience of women (and maybe a man or two) who might also find a place in their heart for this issue. Thank you Jen for sharing with us!
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.I asked Colleen ages ago if I could do a guest post on a cause that’s near and dear to my heart and she has very graciously obliged me. March 8 is “International Women’s Day,” and this year is its centennial celebration. This is special to me because I volunteer at an organization that works to help alleviate the suffering of women in developing countries.
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One by One, is a non-profit organization working to raise awareness and understanding of Obstetric Fistula, a condition which results from a prolonged obstructed labor, usually a couple of days, without medically necessary intervention to relieve the pressure. It is estimated that over two million women and girls are living with obstetric fistula and between 50,000 and 100,000 new cases occur each year. In as high as 90 percent of fistula cases, the baby will die and the woman or girl is left with chronic incontinence. Fistula sufferers are often abandoned or neglected by their husbands and families and ostracized by their communities. (Read more here and here.) What drew me to this cause was twofold: the human suffering and isolation that these women, and oftentimes young girls, with no voices must bear for the rest of their lives if left untreated; and the broader implication this issue reveals to us about maternal health and women’s rights in the world today.
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There were a few reasons I began volunteering with One by One. I liked that they were a small, local organization started by two young women in 2005. I also liked that because they were small every resource had to be utilized efficiently and transparently. That made me feel like the small amount of money I could afford to donate and the time I could give went towards something tangible and real. At the time, the cost to repair one woman with fistula was $300 (it’s now about $420). You and nine of your friends could donate $30 and you had raised enough money to change one woman’s life. That was so powerful to me... because that’s why we give, right? We give to help alleviate the suffering in others and thereby, the suffering in us. And something gives back when we feel like we’re making a difference.
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Now, as a board member at One by One I am so proud of the work we are doing. We are still very small – just 3 staff members, only one of whom is full time. But the work we are doing is incredible. We have been working with partners in Niger, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and now Kenya. We have provided FREE fistula repair for over 1000 women! A pilot project we funded created a model to prevent fistula in an area of 300 villages in Niger and has reported a 100% success rate of no new fistulas over a one year period! This model is now being developed in other areas and we are so excited about its potential. Besides supporting fistula clinics and a few other groundbreaking studies, we are also helping educate women in their own communities so they can become midwives or trained birth attendants, assisting their own people with their maternal health needs. I believe this cultivation of community and education has far reaching benefits beyond improving maternal health for women in these areas.
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There is an amazing book called Half the Sky that develops this idea further…
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I strongly believe every adult living in a developed country should read this book and, as a woman, it is imperative. It is a heart wrenching but clear, incredibly informative, and worthy account of the major issue of our time: women’s rights and gender equality. It is well documented by the UN and other global organizations that empowering and educating women is the best way to fight poverty and extremism (even global warming) in developing countries. Half the Sky clearly articulates why this is true and frankly, why you should care. What I love most here is that the authors are not asking for your sympathy, they are asking you to join a movement, to give. They believe the worst thing you can do after reading this book is feel like the cause is too big and overwhelming and that you as an individual can’t make a difference, because you can. It’s not about giving a large sum of money – it’s about giving something of yourself, getting involved. It may be a bit of your time, your connections, or your skills. Sometimes it’s easier to give money, and I can speak to the need for more money for organizations like One by One to do what they do; absolutely we need money. But if you don’t have the money, are you powerless to give? Absolutely not. Half the Sky offers a few ways to get involved – check out their website and here is another resource.
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And, if I may, here is another idea… At One by One, we have a program called “Giving Circles” where a volunteer hosts around 10 (or more if you have capacity) people at their home to learn about Obstetric Fistula and try to raise the cost of repairing one woman - $420. It’s just a casual get together – a little wine, some hors d'oeuvres – nothing fancy. Why not get your closest girlfriends, your book club, or your dinner club together in honor of “International Women’s Day?” In a group of 10 ladies, each giving $42, you can raise enough to restore one woman’s life. What a powerful way to spend an evening? Or, ask your book club to read Half the Sky and then do a giving circle or volunteer for an organization that resonates with you. As a woman, who is now pregnant with her first child, maternal health is an obvious issue I care about. But even if you don’t have children or you’re not female, this issue matters because you have a mother, and maybe a wife, a sister, a daughter… Many of the young girls and women who suffer from Obstetric Fistula and who die while in labor did not have the right to choose whether they got pregnant. However, every woman should have the right to basic maternal health care. They should not suffer or die simply because they have the ability to give birth. Birth should be a beginning, not an end. And you can join a movement to help.
Click here to learn more about the One by One organization via YouTube.
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