Long Term Care

The Long Term Care Proponents – West Africa Fistula Foundation

A Little Background –
Women that are afflicted with Vesico Vaginal Fistula, resulting from a prolongedlabor during child birth, usually 3 – 6 days and sometimes up to 15  days, with delivery only occurring after the baby dies. During the labor process, the baby’s head and the woman’s pubic bone form a vice, cutting off blood flow to the tissue trapped in this area. Following delivery, the now dead tissue sloughs away, leaving an abnormal opening between the birth canal and the bladder (less frequently the rectum). Unable to control the flow of urine (and/or feces), the woman is wet all the time. Her husband frequently abandons her and she is shunned by the community in which she lives, and will move away or out to some place that no one knows her to beg and live meagerly for the rest of their lives, many dying in the process.

We propose to educate these women after that they have been treated for their condition. Not only operating and healing their physical bodies but also preparing them for the world outside our domain here at the centre. Some patients will require multiple step surgeries  in order to get them the best result. Some will be inoperable and required long time care and rehabilitation. Even as this page is being read, some of these women come everyday and work as volunteers on the fistula ward.

All will need 14 days of post operative treatment on the average and some may require more. When they are ready to be dismissed we recommend highly that they be transferred to a step down facility for psychosocial reintegration into society by means of vocational school or enterprise training which will be available on the first fistula centre that will be built.

With your help and generous donations of time and or money, we can save lives and make a difference in the world for these women that suffer from this forgotten epidemic. Sometimes we seem to forget how fortunate that we really are living in such an advanced society when others have so little. We are grateful for all levels of donations!

If you would like to help, you can make a donation using the PayPal link below.

Make a donation via PayPal using the Icon here

Comments are closed

Find us on Facebook

Sign up for our mailing list.

You Can Help

Make payments with PayPal - it's fast, free and secure!

Or purchase Handmade Surgical Caps made by the women of our ward!

Shop on Amazon to benefit WAFF - 0.5% of all eligible purchases gets donated!

Images

20110223-0173-172 20110218-0108-107 CityOfBo