One week to go!

There is only one week to go until the Walk For Women, raising money for the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia. Its a 50km walk from Coogee to Turramurra, in Sydney, on 11th June. Given my health issues over recent years, I’ll be doing just over 20km of the walk from North Sydney to Turramurra. It will probably take me about 4 hours.

I visited the hospital with my husband when we were living in Addis, and it is the most amazing place. Without completely going into the gory details, a fistula is a devastating childbirth injury that usually results in a stillborn child, and the mother being incontinent of liquid and/or solid waste. In a country with practically no medical intervention available during labour, these injuries are all too common. Due to the detestable nature of the injury, it most often leaves the woman outcast from the society she lives in, and sometimes even from her family.

The only treatment for a fistula is surgery. The Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, which is funded solely by donations, treats thousands of these women each year, giving them a second chance at life. Many go on to live normal, happy lives and have further (live) children. The hospital was started by Australian doctors Reg and Catherine Hamlin in 1974 to treat these women. Reg died some years ago, but Catherine, now in her eighties still powers on. We met her on several occasions in Addis and she is an amazingly gracious woman.

Many of the women walk for days to get to the hospital for treatment. Sometimes it takes years of begging to gather the bus fare in order to get there. I’ll only be walking 4 hours in the walkathon, and I won’t be doing it with a fistula. It puts into some perspective what these women have to deal with.

I’d like to ask you to consider sponsoring me in the walk, to support the hospital. I understand that in this day and age, many of us already give to worthy causes, so if your dollars won’t stretch any further, I completely understand. But if you’d like to donate, its a great and worthy cause, really changing the lives of women in east Africa (not just Ethiopian women, as some come from further afield).

You can learn more about the hospital at http://www.hamlinfistula.org.au. You can donate at http://www.hamlinfistula.org.au/donate.html. Please enter “Walk for Women YStanton” in the Event field, and if you’re not in Australia, please put 0000 for the postcode. If you see me in person, I also have a donation book where you can give me real money or a cheque, or fill out your credit card details if you prefer. For Australian taxpayers, all donations of $2 and over are tax deductible. ALL donations, whether small or large, make a difference!

I don’t get notified of the donations that are made through the website, so if you choose to give in that way, I’d really love it if you let me know, so that I can add your kind donation to my personal tally, and be encouraged by your support.

Thank you for your generosity!