Meet Gini, young and cheerful but has gone through a lot of stress ensuing from her condition of six years. At her age, she is already in her second marriage which she hopes would suffice against the odds. ‘I am here to save my marriage, I was repaired last year but the problem did not go away.  I have no job and have lived in the camp since last year. I was married back in Somalia when I was 17 years old, we don’t go to school, so I am illiterate. I got pregnant in the year I got married and when labour came, I stayed at home with relatives for many days(can’t remember the number), finally I delivered a dead baby at home and developed fistula in the process’.

She had never heard of this problem before but has encountered it a lot in Dadaab, where so many women are living with it; which had been a consolation to hers as she thought she was doomed and cursed. ‘I even got a husband there but I fear he might leave me just like the first one. I am hopeful that I will get cured and be accepted by people in the camp’.

‘We have no money to buy anything let alone seek treatment. I am happy that there are good doctors to take care of us for free. When I get well I would like to help other people with problems like us.’ Gini’s care giving aspect can be seen by the way she moves around helping other patients who have gone ahead of her and got repair.

Gini on the left with a project intern (centre) and another patient