Give Women Recovering from Fistula a Bright Future

Dear Friends,

Kupona Foundation’s 2018 Annual Report is now available! 

Thanks to your support, our partner CCBRT performed more than 8,900 surgeries in 2018, including providing comprehensive treatment for over 700 women and girls living with obstetric fistula. 

For patients like Hilda, a surgery successfully repairing her obstetric fistula means she is able to play with her children, earn a living, and raise awareness about fistula in her community. 

The birth injury of obstetric fistula is not only a physical injury. We believe in providing comprehensive, holistic care for women recovering from fistula. With a dedicated Holistic Care Coordinator, women recovering from fistula spend time together learning English and learning how to raise awareness about fistula symptoms and treatment in their communities. “I was so happy to spend time with the other women here. Before this, I thought and felt I was alone,” said Hilda. She returned to CCBRT in 2018 as a fistula ambassador. Hilda is one of the thousands of individuals across Tanzania trained by CCBRT to identify and refer women with fistula for treatment. During her visit, she shared her experience and inspirational story with the women waiting for surgery or recovering, and encouraged them to make use of the resources available to them for “life after fistula.” 

You can read the rest of Hilda’s story, and other stories of lives changed through your support by accessing our 2018 Annual Report. 

Thank you for your partnership in 2018, and for your continued generosity as we work to change the status quo for Tanzanian women. 

Are you feeling inspired? GlobalGiving’s Little by Little campaign is underway this week.Beginning at 9:00 am ET on Monday, August 12th and until 11:59 pm ET on Friday August 16th, donations up to $50 will be matched at 60%.Please consider sharing this Project Report via email or social media with a note about the matching funds and why you give to support women like Hilda. 

With gratitude,
Abbey Kocan

Executive Director, Kupona Foundation

Today is Bonus Day! Starting at 9:00 a.m. ET your gift of $100 to $1,000 will be matched up to 50% through midnight tonight or until matching funds run out.  Watch this video to hear why Betsy gives to Kupona Foundation. 

“When I visited CCBRT I was impressed that not only do they provide [obstetric fistula] surgical repairs for free, but they are really thinking about an approach that eliminates the barriers to treatment.”

From providing free hospital transportation for women with fistula to creating income generating opportunities post-surgery, Kupona’s local partner in Tanzania, CCBRT, fights to remove all barriers to treatment and recovery. Betsy says it best, “I love this soup to nuts approach to care. It’s innovative, and quite effective.” We believe everyone has a right to high quality healthcare.

Your gift of $100 to $1,000 today -- matched by GlobalGiving -- helps us provide holistic care for more women living with fistula. Please join Betsy in making your gift go further. 

Thank you so much for your support.

With gratitude,
Abbey Kocan

Executive Director, Kupona Foundation

Dear Friends, 

Tomorrow is Bonus Day! Beginning at 9:00 am ET on July 18th, your donation goes further to support health workers like Dorcas and the women and babies they serve. Gifts from $100 to $1,000 will receive up to a 50% match!

Dorcas is a valued member of our partner CCBRT’s Maternal Health Capacity Building Team (MHCB), which works to strengthen health systems in Dar es Salaam by expanding the knowledge of clinicians and quality of care. On a recent visit to a clinic that provides antenatal care for pregnant women, she met 17-year-old Jane, who was expecting her first child. Jane’s mother explained that they had been to the clinic before and had been told that Jane needed a male partner with her to receive services. “I told Jane and her mother that nothing like that is needed to access services,” remembers Dorcas. “Even when their partners are not around, women should still be able to access the care they need.” 

Further conversations at the clinic led Dorcas to discover that the clinic had misinterpreted best practice knowledge advising that male partners should be encouraged to accompany their expectant partner on visits to receive information on how to best support mother and child.Dorcas shared, “The enforcement was misguided, and further stigmatizes the vulnerable, such as teenagers and single mothers. We should be empowering them instead…That’s why CCBRT’s Capacity Building Program is so important – on-site coaching and practice facilitation has proven to be the best practice for behavior change, so that every mother in need can access the best care.” You can read Dorcas’ full story here. 

Your support makes Dorcas’ work possible, as well as the critical awareness-raising efforts of her colleagues who are out in the community dispelling myths and misconceptions about obstetric fistula; spreading the word that fistula is treatable, and free treatment is available. Improving the quality maternal healthcare is the best way to prevent obstetric fistula. Better educating women and their partners empowers them to demand better care. I invite you to join us for this special matching opportunity tomorrow, to make your gift go further. The higher the amount, the higher the match! 

Thank you for your support.

With gratitude, 
Abbey Kocan

Executive Director, Kupona Foundation

Dear Friends,

Today we’re celebrating the sixth annual International Day to End Obstetric Fistula.

Obstetric fistula is a devastating childbirth injury caused by prolonged, obstructed labor without access to timely, high-quality medical care. The injury leaves women with chronic incontinence, leaking urine, feces or both due to a hole formed between the birth canal and bladder or rectum during childbirth. In 90% of cases, the baby doesn’t survive the traumatic delivery.

The condition and stigma surrounding it often cause women to be isolated or rejected by their families and communities. Women in disadvantaged communities live with the condition for years – or even decades – because they’re unaware that fistula can be treated, or unable to access treatment.

That was true for 82-year-old Msonde, who lived with fistula for 60 years after developing it during the delivery of her second child in 1958. It wasn’t until last year that she learned from her niece that she could receive free fistula treatment at our local partner CCBRT. In August, Msonde traveled to CCBRT and underwent surgery that successfully repaired her fistula.

"When I arrived at CCBRT, I could not believe it was possible, but I found many women undergoing fistula treatment," Msonde said after her surgery. “I wish my husband could still have been alive. We are old now, but he could have been able to see me walking freely.”

In Jovitha’s case, she developed fistula after being in labor for three days during the delivery of her fourth child. Tragically, her baby did not survive. Despite quickly learning that she had fistula, the trauma of the delivery, loss and injury deeply affected Jovitha’s mental health and self-esteem.

“My experience – it’s unexplainable,” Jovitha shared. “I hated myself for three months. I had urine flowing down my legs and was extremely embarrassed. But…thankfully I had that support that so many other women don’t feel from their families and communities.”

Fistula is treatable through surgery and rehabilitation. What’s more, it’s preventable – through access to high-quality maternal health services.

This International Day to End Obstetric Fistula, we’re asking for your help to eradicate fistula in Tanzania.

Share your support for the global movement to fight fistula by using the hashtag #EndFistula in your posts or stories on social media.

Join the movement. Make a donation in honor of a strong woman or mother in your life - helping us provide comprehensive treatment for women like Msonde and Jovitha and helping address the root cause of fistula through improved maternal and newborn healthcare.

Regardless of income or location, we believe that NO woman should live with obstetric fistula. We hope you’ll join us in making that dream a reality. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Abbey Kocan

Executive Director, Kupona Foundation

P.S. Read Jovitha’s full story here, and learn more about Msonde’s journey here.

Dear Friends,

This Thursday, May 23rd is International Day to End Obstetric Fistula. While as many as 3,000 Tanzanian women develop fistula every year, many in Tanzania have never heard of it; the condition is still surrounded by lack of awareness, confusion and stigma.

Asha, now 44, developed fistula during the birth of her second child in 1996, when she was 23.

Without a skilled medical attendant present, Asha’s second labor and delivery was long and painful. Afterwards, like many women living with fistula, Asha was unable to control her urine or feces.

It would be six years before Asha even learned the name of her condition, which continued worsening as she gave birth to four more children. Unable to afford fistula surgery at her district hospital with her income as a local farmer, 16 more years passed before Asha learned about our partner CCBRT’s free fistula services.

In February 2019, after 22 years too many, Asha underwent a successful fistula repair surgery at CCBRT.

Realizing she could finally access treatment was “the beginning of a new life chapter,” Asha said. Read Asha’s full story here.

Obstetric fistula is preventable with access to timely, high-quality maternal health services. No woman should live with fistula for 22 years, or even two months.

Tomorrow, on International Day to End Obstetric Fistula, we’re raising awareness about fistula and mobilizing support to eradicate fistula in Tanzania. Stay tuned to learn how you can help, and visit our website, Facebook or Instagram for more stories from women affected by fistula and the health workers working tirelessly to prevent it.

Sincerely,

The Kupona Foundation team