In December 2015 Joan delivered her last child. It was a hospital delivery. She had been in labour for three days. During her delivery, while pushing out the baby, she suffered tears and the attending doctor also had to cut her up to create room for the baby to be birthed properly. The doctor sutured the area halfway leaving enough space for menstruation and coitus.

When she returned home from hospital, Joan had to resume house chores immediately as she had no househelp. In the process of the carrying out the chores she suspects that the stitches came off leaving her with both vesicovaginal and rectovaginal fistula. She was passing stool from both her vagina and rectum.

She withheld this information from her husband as she could not explain it to anyone. During sexual intercourse with her husband, he would tell her that she was dirty and smelly. Sometimes he would have stool on his penis after the act. Her husband would ask her to shower properly and sometimes abuse her. She resorted to constantly checking herself to ensure that she was clean.

Her social life had also become difficult. She would often queef and feel embarrassed. Most people assumed that she had broken wind. She was also condemned to wearing adult diapers if she hoped to go about her normal life or socializing with others.

She tried getting help from a doctor at her local dispensary, but the condition did not improve. She was constantly on vaginal pessaries because of the numerous vaginal infections she suffered. The doctor then referred her to Dr. Joseph in Ol Kalou who she was told, could cure her. It was upon visiting Dr. John that she was diagnosed with fistula. The doctor advised her to sign up for NHIF which would aid in catering for her treatment costs.

In October 2021, Dr. John called the dispensary and requested them to inform me about the medical camp in Nyeri. It is at this point that Joan informed her husband of her diagnosis and that she was travelling for treatment. She asked him whether he had felt that her vagina was too wide during sex, and he stated that he thought it was normal since she had delivered many children.

Having successfully received surgery and is in the process of recovery, Joan is overjoyed at the promise her life now holds. She is so grateful to the Flying Doctors Society of Africa for the noble job they are doing. She stated that she will be an ambassador of fistula and enlighten other women about the causes of fistula. She also stated that she implores upon women to come forward and seek help and not suffer in silence.

After delivery, she realized that she was not passing her stool normally. Instead of passing through the rectum, she would pass stool through both the rectum and vagina. To manage the situation, Mary was forced to wear sanitary pads to avoid soiling her clothes. She also had to thoroughly wash herself after relieving herself to avoid walking around with a stench.

She was embarrassed by her situation and did not dare reveal the condition to anyone. Despite having delivered two more times, she did not disclose her predicament to anyone, not even the doctors during her delivery.

In 2004, Mary concluded that what she was experiencing was not normal. Even then she was still too embarrassed to share her situation with anyone. She suffered in silence buried in shame and worry.

In 2019, Mary heard about a fistula medical camp over the radio and decided to visit the hospital in Nyeri. She was screened and diagnosed with fistula. Despite being an excellent candidate for the corrective surgery, she missed a spot as she had arrived late.

In 2021 while listening to the radio, she heard about the medical camp by Flying Doctors Society of Africa and purposed to attend. She travelled from her home in Karatina to Nyeri where the camp was being hosted. She arrived on the first day and was screened and scheduled for surgery. On 22^nd November 2021, she successfully received corrective surgery.

Mary looks forward to making a full recovery. She urges other women to speak out and not suffer in silence. Despite not having much information about fistula, she further states that she will take it upon herself to inform women about condition. She is grateful to M-PESA Foundation and the Flying Doctors Society of Africa for the noble work that they are doing and prays for blessings upon them.

On 13^th October 2021, Immaculate’s life changed. She discovered was passing urine through both her rectum and her urethra. She felt like a leaking tap. She had just undergone a successful myomectomy. She had fibroids in her uterus which were removed. Four days after the surgery, she woke up and realized that she could not control her urine flow.  She called the doctor who had operated on her and he advised her to go for a urogram which showed that she had rectovaginal fistula.

On 28^th October, Immaculate went for repair surgery with the same doctor who had performed the myomectomy (fibroidectomy). The repair was unsuccessful. The doctor advised that she uses a catheter and diaper until he found a doctor who could properly assist her and address the fistula.

On 5^th November, Immaculate returned home dejected and frustrated. She did not know how she would cope Her new condition meant that she would stop attending her business premises, going to church or even hosting guests. Basically, she would stop doing anything she loved and enjoyed. What hurt her most was that she could not be open with her children. She felt embarrassed about her children having to see her wearing the diapers. When her children eventually found out that something was wrong with their mother, they were frustrated. This further added to Immaculate’s frustration. Also, because she was unable to attend to her business she ran losses as she could not supervise or reconcile her books of account. She was very unhappy.

On 15^th November while listening to the radio, Immaculate heard the announcement about the medical camp hosted by the Flying Doctors’ Society of Africa. She took the phone number and called to inquire further. On 18^th November, Immaculate travelled from Kerugoya to Nyeri for treatment. She went through the screening process and was scheduled for surgery. Immaculate received corrective surgery on 22^nd November.

Immaculate is overjoyed and very grateful to M-PESA Foundation and the Flying Doctors’ Society of Africa for sponsoring this treatment. She says they are God-sent and are doing the most important job- serving humanity. She has promised to use her position as a church leader to be a fistula ambassador. She will not let any woman in her community suffer in silence.

She looks forward to resuming work and being of service to others.

In 2018, Wanjiru’s life changed. She realized that she was unable to control her urine flow. She cannot tell how it started because she delivered her last child in 1989. She had not suffered any injury or gone through any surgery to warrant such a problem. Her situation made it difficult for her to navigate through life. She had to stop going to church and attending her women’s group meetings.

Luckily, her husband was extremely supportive and had promised to take her for treatment if he found a place where he could get it. In 2019, while listening to the radio, she heard an announcement about the medical camp by Flying Doctors’ Society of Africa. She travelled to Nyeri from Karatina to attend the camp but was unable to receive any service since she arrived late. She doesn’t remember whether she left her number to be contacted later but she went home dejected.

In October 2021, again while listening to the radio, she heard about the medical camp at Nyeri Hospital. She purposed to attend early this time round. She got to Nyeri hospital in good time for screening and secured a spot for surgery. Wanjiru received the corrective surgery on 22^nd November. She is excited and waiting to make a full recovery.

Wanjiru looks forward to resuming activities she enjoyed like going to church. She has promised to share with other women information about fistula to ensure that no girl suffers in silence. She prays for blessings upon M-PESA Foundation and the Flying Doctor’s Society of Africa.

As the norm of the school for every girl discovered to be pregnant, suspension was imminent. She sort for guidance from her mother on the pregnancy and so she felt what she believed to have been labour pains but did not bother about it. She stayed home and the labour continued and lasted 7 days. While at home, she felt the urge and the pressure of the baby coming out and with all her strength she pushed the baby out delivering at home. The joy of looking at her baby boy overwhelmed her so much that she did not notice that she was damaged. Nobody had cautioned her on what to expect after delivery of her baby.

After a few days, she noticed that she could not control the gas that came through her birth canal. Being a teen mother, she decided to consult her mother and other elder women within her family for advice on what that could have been. Everyone gave her the same answer that it was a normal occurrence after birth; that the reason was that during the birth of her child, cold air must have entered her body through the birth canal and that, was the air coming out. She took their word as truth, after all, these women had been in that journey long before her, they therefore, knew better so she thought.

After several months, she vowed to herself that it was a matter of time and everything would go back to normal. Her urge to continue with her education led her to the decision to leave her child with her mother and go back to school to finish secondary school education. It was then, that she noticed that  all was not well, even after washing  herself, she noticed her under pant was not clean; stool was passing without her being able to control. Her body started having a stench and this lead her to lose her friends. She was eager and determined to get better. She sought for treatment from different clinics and all she was given was medicine that was meant to clear the smell. The medicine however didn’t help; she finally resorted to keeping to herself, finish her education.

After completing secondary school in 2014, she resulted to staying at home assisting in household and farming activities to avoid public interaction. She lost appetite of consuming food, with the mind-set that eating made the situation worse. During gatherings where it was mandatory for her to attend, she would attend but refrain from eating in order to remain clean. It was not until; the year 2019 that she saw an advertisement on Television for a fistula camp and recognized that the condition explained on the advertisement was what she was suffering from. She called the numbers provided but being miles away and with no job or income she could not afford to attend. She explained her predicament on phone and when she was told she will be facilitated with transport to attend the Nyeri Fistula Camp nothing could hold her.

Jennifer believes her life has been given back to her. Looking back at her child Daniel, now 8 years old, she is looking forward to normalcy to her life with no shame. She parts by saying “I thank Safaricom and The Flying Doctors Society for helping me, May God Bless you and may you continue doing the good work”

“All was however not well, I noticed stool coming out and I could not even control gas. It came out with a loud noise especially when I sat for a long period and the worst was there was nothing I could do” She exclaims as she joyously smiles to her other baby who is almost 8 months.

Margaret, in addition to being a farmer in her village in Mweiga, she was an active member of the community. She was involved in church activities, her children school activities and different ‘chamas’ meetings. For her, meetings were a must to attend to contribute to the society. She however, did not let her condition affect her way of living and interactions. She told her husband Simon what she was going through and he understood. Margaret later got three other children in hospital, but her condition was not fixed.

A year went by and 2 more thereafter she resorted to living with the condition not knowing whether she would ever get help. She however found comfort in the support her husband provided and devised a mechanism for coping with her condition. She narrates that over time, she realized that to minimize stool she’d have to eat minimal. For the gas she practiced for a while but figured out that the gas builds up when she sits for long. She decided that when she attends any form of meeting she will only sit for a minimum 15 minutes and stand up to let the air out without noise and that is how she managed to live with Fistula for 15 years.

In 2019, when she saw an advertisement of a fistula camp on television, she told the husband that she would like to seek treatment. Her husband agreed and brought her to the hospital. She was screened and told to go home and wait for a call on when she would attend the hospital for treatment. Margaret says she had faith that she would be treated, she acknowledges that the God she serves was greater than her problems. So accompanied by the husband, they went home but on waking up on Sunday morning, they received a call from the hospital to come for admission on the same day.  She went back and got admitted.  She received free surgery on Monday, 28^th February, 2019. “I am so happy I have been fixed. I want to thank Safaricom and you Flying Doctors for making me well. May God bless you, and to any woman who is suffering I would like to tell you that treatment is there do not hide, come and get treated” She exclaims and continues “I will be an ambassador, if I hear of any woman with fistula now I know where to send them”