(Emily's voice)
For Christmas this year I received the knowledge that a woman somewhere in the far east will have corrective surgery for her obstetric fistula. And Matt is getting the same. We decided to finish off the fistula fund, splitting the remaining amount between us, and that is our gift to each other.
While reading the Fistula Foundation's website (http://www.fistualfoundation.org)I found a link to some articles about the tumultuous times that women are enduring in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I learned that a lot of the fistulas women are suffering from are actually the result of rape, as opposed to complications in giving birth. Rape, as it turns out, is an excellent tool in ensuring dominance over communities and showing force. It is the worst kind of terrorism. Reading the articles and watching the video posted on their website brought tears to my eyes and made me feel sick to my stomach. I can't believe that there are such atrocities going on in the world. It is enough to break your heart.
I have included the video from CBS's 60 Minutes, and I must warn, there are some very disturbing images shown and stories told during this segment.
PROCEED WITH CAUTION - SOME IMAGES/STORIES MAY BE DISTURBING TO YOU.
Watch CBS News Videos Online
Some friends of mine at Sunnybrook started an organization to get medical supplies to the Panzi Hospital in DRC that is helping deal with this problem:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.saferworld.ca/