We will aim to provide a range of options to empower women as they reintegrate back into their communities:
- We will provide psychological care and create Fistula Support Groups.
- We will establish a micro-financing program to assist former fistula patients and provide business or trade skills and small loans. We have established a relationship with the Womens Association of Tigray to assist in training the women to become self-sustainable.
- Other women will be trained as community volunteers to assist the Health Extension Workers with maternal health services (the govt. of Ethiopia has trained 30,000 HEW to work in health centers around the country). Currently, 2 women serve 5,000 people.
- We will train fistula advocates to find other women suffering from fistula, mobilize transportation and to organize community education and outreach.
- We will teach the women how to produce Safe Motherhood Kits to be distributed to Traditional Birth Attendants and Health Extension Workers in their villages. The women will receive compensation for every kit produced as a source of income to encourage them to remain active in assisting to improve maternal health care.
- We will help women locate education options and enroll them in local schools or provide scholarships for night school.
- Some women will be trained as nurses’ aids to assist the Hamlin Midwives who will be working in Health Centers stationed in rural communities surrounding the Mekelle Hamlin Fistula Hospital.
Phase 2: To start implementing our pilot project we have established a US board of directors and are now fundraising to open our pilot project center in Mekelle, Ethiopia and travelled back to Ethiopia in February/March 2010 to accomplish the following in preparation for opening the center in June 2010:
- Establish an advisory board in Ethiopia (Steering Committee established March 2010)
- Find a facility in Mekelle to house the Healing Hands Pilot Center and hire staff, including a resident midwife (We rented our facility on our March 2010 trip)
- Establish a relationship with the staff at the Mekelle Hamlin Fistula Hospital and meet several of the patients (patients were surveyed and a relationship with the Mekelle Fistula Hospital was established on our February-March trip)
- Secure transportation for women leaving and arriving at Mekelle
- Continue the relationship with the Mekelle Health Bureau head and meet neighboring women’s associations and fistula support groups (We have signed a formal agreement with the Tigray Health Bureau)
- Listen and learn more from the women recovering from fistula about their dreams, desires and basic needs.
- Work with Intrahealth (an NGO that does pre-repair fistula work) to create a curriculum for training fistula women and performing community outreach
- Research and visit successful micro-financing projects in Ethiopia
Estimated Costs to open our Pilot Project Center in Mekelle, Ethiopia: $98,000
Healing Hands of Joy
3101 N Hampton Drive
#1517
Alexandria, VA 22302