Asha and her husband lived in a small
village and were very poor. Her husband worked as a guard
at the village government office and earned a meager salary.
Asha's first pregnancy was not difficult, and she delivered
her first baby at home with no problems. When she was ready
to deliver her second child, she experienced a very difficult
labor and had to be taken to a hospital. Because there was
no money to get her to the hospital, her husband took out
two loans: one for $6 to pay for a wheelbarrow pulled by a
cow to carry her to a main road, and another for $60 for a
car to drive them from the main road to the hospital.
Although Asha was able to
get a cesarean section, because of the prolonged labor her
baby died and she developed fistula. The operation cost $40,
a fee that they could not afford, so Asha's husband took a
loan from the village government. The loan required him to
work without a salary until his debt was repaid. This left
the family without a source of income.
Along with the mounting debt, Asha's husband
had to pay ten cents a day to someone willing to collect water
from the nearest well six hours away. Asha was too weak to
make the trip, and she needed extra water to wash herself
and her clothes because of the constantly leaking urine.
Keeping up with loan payments was difficult,
so the family sold a plot of land for $20 and one of their
five cows. Still, this only paid off a small portion of their
debts. Along with the financial strains, Asha continued to
suffer because of her fistula. Friends collected some money
to help the family and pay for Asha's fistula repair. The
repair surgery was successful, but the family remains deeply
in debt. It is uncertain how this family of three will continue
to survive without any income and with outstanding loans to
repay.
Pendo lived with fistula for over 30 years.
As a young girl she attended school until her father forced
her to marry at age 12. According to local custom, Pendo lived
with her husband's parents until age 14; at which point she
had her first menses and moved into her husband's home.
Pendo worked hard during her first pregnancy collecting firewood
and water, and doing all other domestic chores. Her labor
was difficult, painful and long. After being in labor for
three days at home, her family finally took her to a hospital
20 kilometers away. The doctors delivered the baby by forceps.
The baby survived, but Pendo developed
fistula as a result of the prolonged labor. She tried several
times to have the fistula repaired at the hospital, but each
time she arrived, there was no surgeon available to perform
the operation.
Pendo's brother said the problem could
not be cured and told her she should give up on trying to
get treatment. Pendo's husband was advised to abandon her
and marry another woman, but he ignored that advice and remained
very supportive and loving. After Pendo got fistula she went
on to have eleven more children, all of whom treated her with
respect and kindness. The sons and daughters helped with the
household chores and washed Pendo's urine-soaked clothes.
She continued to work and support her
family throughout all those years, but faced significant social
challenges. Ashamed of leaking urine uncontrollably, Pendo
avoided situations where people might find out about her problem.
Whenever she came across someone walking along the road she
would cross to the other side so that they could not smell
the odor.
When Pendo learned that her fistula could
be cured she immediately went for repair. The surgery was
successful, and Pendo finally stopped leaking. When she was
fully healed and ready to return to her family, providers
reminded her that she must wait three months after the surgery
to resume sexual relations. Pendo happily told the providers,
"Three months of waiting, after 32 years of leaking,
is nothing!"
When Neema was 15 years old a man in her
village abducted her, locked her in his sister's house and
raped her repeatedly for three days. According to Neema's
culture, since she spent the night alone with the man, she
had to marry him. Neema's father and brother gave her to the
man in exchange for six cows.
The couple moved to the city and worked
selling vegetables. When Neema got pregnant she sought antenatal
care and worked long into her pregnancy so that she could
afford a hospital delivery. The day she went into labor, her
husband's family waited for nearly 24 hours before taking
her to a hospital. Neema had to try two different hospitals
and waited two days before she finally received a cesarean
section. Her baby did not survive, and soon after her operation
she discovered that she was leaking.
Since neither her husband
nor his family visited her, Neema spent two months alone,
recovering at the hospital. The relatives of other patients
were kind and gave her food and water. When she finally went
home, her husband said he no longer needed her; he now had
a new wife who was not leaking. Although he treated her badly,
Neema did not leave because she had nowhere to go.
Neema's brother eventually helped her
obtain a fistula repair. The operation was only partially
successful, leaving her unable to pass urine except through
a catheter. Neema's husband continued to abuse her physically
and emotionally; he refused to give her food and stole the
vegetables that she sold for a living. Eventually he threw
her out of the house.
Neema found a job as a maid earning 30
cents a day. She used her meager wages to rent a room and
purchase her own cleaning supplies. She searched for more
work and found a new job that paid her ten more cents a day.
She invested half of her daily salary into a women's rotating
credit fund and used the balance of her wages, plus the income
from the credit fund, to buy a mattress. Neema is now 17 years
old.
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