Freedom from Fistula

 

Frightened… abandoned… ostracised  and suffering … in silence

 

Just a few of the words used by an estimated 1 million women and girls across Africa to describe living with an obstetric fistula – a childbirth injury caused by prolonged, obstructed labour and lack of access to maternity care.  Tragically the baby usually dies and the mother is left incontinent, often shunned by her family and community and condemned to a life of shame, isolation and despair.

 

Dame Ann Gloag, a former nurse and co-founder of the international transport company Stagecoach, set up Freedom From Fistula (www.freedomfromfistula.org.uk) in 2008 to help women and girls suffering from obstetric fistula.  The Charity provides free surgeries – restoring dignity and quite literally transforming lives; free and accessible maternity care; education and training to patients; free out-patient clinics for children up to 15 and training for healthcare professionals.

 

Freedom From Fistula offers hope… hope for fistula patients; hope for expectant mums and hope for a brighter future for children.

 

Narrated by Academy Award winning actress Meryl Streep, SHOUT GLADI GLADI celebrates the extraordinary people who rescue African women and girls from obstetric fistula and presents the patients as they tell stirring tales of their struggles and triumphs.