Elizabeth Rotary has financially supported this hospital for more than 20 years on an annual basis. Past President Arthur Eason first brought this project to the Clubs attention in September 1994.
Our members have followed their progress and development for all this time and maintain regular contact. We have a copy of a letter from Dr Steven Arrowsmith, Assistant Medical Director who gave a detailed account of the Hospitals equipment and operations in October 1994. Interestingly there is a hand written addendum to this letter written by Dr Catherine Hamlin, one of the hospitals founders who still works in the hospital today. Her passion expressed in this letter is extraordinary. This long term commitment can only be maintained by the generosity of our local community who buy our raffle tickets and BBQ’s around the district. So on behalf of the whole community we have extended our hands of friendship and financial support to Ethiopia where our contributions have assisted and saved the lives of thousands of women. Since our initial contributions the hospital has grown phenomenally in Addis Ababa with five country mini-hospitals and a midwifery school in Ethiopia.
Details from Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital’s web site with hyperlinks for direct access.
http://hamlinfistula.org/our-hospital.html
The Hospital
A haven of healing
Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital provides care for women with childbirth injuries and has done so since 1974. It is located in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. It is the only hospital of its kind in the world dedicated exclusively to women with obstetric fistula – a condition common in the developing world where the maternal health provisions are poor. It treats all patients completely free of any charge.
Background
Founded by Drs. Reginald and Catherine Hamlin both obstetrician/gynaecologists, from New Zealand and Australia respectively, the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital has treated over 30,000 women with a success/cure rate of over 90%. Today, the hospital provides free fistula repair surgery to approximately 2,500 women every year and cares for 50 long-term patients. Catherine Hamlin has chronicled the history of the hospital in her autobiography and she and the hospital have been the recipients of many awards and nominations.
