She came to Dadaad three months ago, and like many of the Somalia origin in the camp she came with both RVF/VVF that she had lived with for one year. She has no known relatives in Somalia and the camp and was destitute with nowhere to sleep when the rains fell this month. That is when she walked to the MSF clinic in Dagahaley refugee camp to seek shelter. She couldn’t even sit down for fear of soiling the benches.

‘I had was married and delivered a still birth by the borehole with assistance from village birth attendants in Somalia. The attendants pulled my baby hard and I believe that brought this problem. I tried to seek help in many places including the herbalists in vain. When my baby died, I was rejected and ostracised by my husband and his family’. She is one of the lucky ones to be visited by the Anja, the MSF midwife who organised for her travel to Garisa. She couldn’t be more delighted.

Nimo with a midwife from MSF health centre

During her visit to the maternal shelter where the women undergoing surgery were housed, the  midwife  underwent a one hour informal training from Beatrice Ogutu from KNH (the AMREF trained VVF nurse) on patient management tactics to manage and also prevent fistula at health facility level as well as post operative care of OF patients.

In keeping with AMREF approach of using/linking beneficiaries with the existing structures, this arrangement will ensure that patients are effectively re-integrated into their communities in the refugee camps with proper medical and psychosocial care and support.