When Uwimana arrived at the HEAL Africa hospital in Goma, she carried more than physical pain. She carried years of heartbreak, rejection and isolation.
A mother from Mweso in the Democratic Republic of Congo, she had lost two of her five children, including a baby girl who died earlier this year, just one day after birth. The trauma of her loss was compounded by a childbirth condition, obstetric fistula, that left her incontinent and shunned by her community.
“I really suffered,” Uwimana shares. “I could not work or even go to church. People wouldn’t eat or drink in my home. They said I was dirty and unlucky.”
Uwimana’s husband abandoned her and she was forced to hide her condition, wearing oversized dresses to conceal the leaking urine. When Mweso Hospital eventually referred her to HEAL Africa, she sold her few crops and used the money from her small business just to be able to afford to travel to HEAL Africa in Goma, clinging to the hope of healing.
Thanks to funding through a partnership between WorldShare and Mission Assist, Uwimana underwent a successful fistula surgery and began her journey to recovery. But healing at HEAL Africa is more than medical, it’s holistic. Patients are treated with compassion, dignity and love.
“I was treated free of charge and fed, and the staff made sure I was doing well,” Uwimana says with a smile. “HEAL Africa has given me a new life, and I am forever grateful.”
Now, she is preparing to return home, restored and hopeful. “Even those who despised me will be shocked when they see me. I have eaten well, I have healed, and I am ready to live life again with my children.”
Your Gift Can Change a Life
Uwimana’s story is just one of many. Every year, women across the Democratic Republic of Congo suffer silently from obstetric fistula, a condition that is treatable but often out of reach for those living in poverty.
This Christmas, you can help give the gift of Fistula Surgery by purchasing WorldShare’s Charity Gift and help restore dignity to women like Uwimana. Your gift will help to provide life-changing surgery, compassionate care and the chance for a woman to return to her family and community with renewed hope.
