Beyond Fistula

Nivea is fifteen years old from Uganda. Both her parents have low income. She comes from a family of nine children whereby she's the first born.She has both grandparents living. She got fistula when she was fourteen years old and stayed with it for one year before getting treatment. She's dry now. She is willing to learn, and she will like to become a nurse when she grows up. She likes playing football.

Cynthia is a brilliant girl who was orphaned at an early age. She is the first born in her family. She was born with a fistula and was repaired at the age of 12yrs. She wants to become a doctor so that she can help repair people with fistulas. She also wants to take the responsibility of helping her siblings once she is done with school. She feels very fortunate to have the opportunity to be at school.

Emmanuel is a young boy whose mother is a survivor of obstetric fistula. This condition made it difficult for her to work, and she and her sons were abandoned by the father. He has his grandparents in his life, but he and his brother and mother are houseless and have periods of surviving on only one meal a day. Emmanuel very much wants to learn. When he is not in school he loves playing with his brother.

Siantayo is a teenaged girl in Kenya. She has a mother, a father, and eight siblings - four girls and four boys. Siantayo was born with a fistula and has had many surgeries to try to correct it. Now she has a colostomy to manage. She likes studying and feels blessed to have support in her education.

Kelvin is a young student whose father has abandoned him, his brother, and his mother. She had an obstetric fistula from giving birth that made it very difficult for her to work. Kelvin is close with his grandparents but his mother struggles to keep the family housed and there are days they only have one meal. He wants to succeed in school along with his brother.

Vicody was the second of nine children in her family, raised by two parents who did casual labor. Vicody loves to read; her favorite subject is English and she wants to be a teacher. After she became pregnant with her boyfriend's baby, she had an obstructed labor, which caused her to lose the baby and need medical help. Vicody sought help at a surgical clinic, recovered, and is now enrolled in secondary school where she is happy to continue to work towards her goal of becoming a teacher.