It looks like we will be going back to Ethiopia in early 2011 to stay a month. I will travel with a team of doctors and nurses to a very remote area, where we will focus on obstructive childbirth issues. I will also be documenting the lifestyle of a rural Ethiopian woman, in an in-depth manner.
Global Soul International, a 501c3 organization, will help us with fund-raising for this effort. Donations are also accepted online here under the Projects section.
Difficult labor is the cause of prolapse and fistula conditions, yet a rural woman’s purpose in Ethiopia is to get pregnant and raise her children. Over the years, her body will bear the brunt of extreme pressures, and she rarely is offered the choice to not have more children. We find that many women who come in for prolapse surgery also want to have their uterus taken out as a contraceptive option. Abortion does exist in shady corners utilizing sticks and other sharp objects, and some young girls will abandon an unwanted baby. But for the most part, it is a great honor to bear a child and nurture it with vigorous focus and determination.
To witness a woman struggling so very hard to stay well enough to feed her children here is very disheartening. A human life is precious, and when I look into each child’s face I encounter – whether found wandering on the streets, or in the arms of a loving mother, or working hard to shepherd a herd of cows – I feel a sense of awe in that they are able to survive at all despite so many obstacles. And yet, they continuously find reasons to express an easy smile.
As I contemplate what might be needed to help this country, I think of several things right away: establishing reproductive and health education, getting more doctors and midwives to be willing to work in rural areas, building more rural hospitals, obtaining sources for clean water, and developing better transportation options for those who are ill.
Yes, it can be overwhelming to see so many problems intertwined and having a domino effect upon each other. But for some reason the thought of new Spring growth comes to mind: is the crocus intimidated by the cold, hard, winter packed Earth? No, the fragile flower transforms into new life by slowly pushing a tiny bit of dirt away at a time in order to make its way to its fullest expression. If we really think about it, how does that flower break through the heavy Earth?
Perhaps this is how we can all work together to help a woman in Ethiopia: one small gesture at a time.
The various health issues that arise in a society that marries off their girls at age 12 and expects a male to start his family before age 18 are abundant. Rape is illegal here, but it happens often. And even if the marriage is based upon love, a girl’s body can’t handle childbirth at that young age.
In Ethiopia, divorce or abandonment is not seen as a cultural taboo. It is very common for a male to move on to another family, and for the woman to be left behind with a large brood of children to care for. Most often, the women band together and help each other survive on very little. They continue their jobs of gathering wood, fetching water and preparing food.
But on the occasion where we see continued involvement by the men who are concerned about the health of their wives, there is a focused desperation. It is almost like they are fighting two battles: to obtain medical care for their loved one, and to push through the cultural norm of indifference.
