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”