Hope after Heartbreak: Keriya's Path to Recover

10 June 2025

In Ethiopia, becoming a mother can be one of the most dangerous things a woman will do in her lifetime.

For four long months, Keriya lived with the pain and stigma of incontinence, unaware of its cause. It wasn’t until she heard about obstetric fistula and the specialised treatment available through our partner, Hope of Light, that hope began to return to her life.

Keriya had been married for 13 years and already had two beautiful children - a 10-year old daughter and a 5-year old son - when she went into labour with her third child. The labour lasted for 24 agonising hours and ended in tragedy. Keriya’s baby was stillborn.

To add to the devastation, Keriya developed obstetric fistula as a result of the prolonged labour. She could not control her bladder and was confused and frightened by what it would mean for her life.

Despite everything she had endured, Keriya maintains her optimism and her warm smile. As she prepared for surgery, she expressed to the medical team how lucky she felt to have the opportunity to be cured. “I’m so happy to be here,” she said. “I’m looking forward to being cured.” 

Although she and her family are still coming to terms the terrible loss they suffered, Keriya remains hopeful and focused on her recovery.

Once healed, Keriya returned to her home in Oromia, where she was eager to get back to farming alongside her family and being part of her community again. “I miss working in the fields,” she told the team at the hospital before she left. “I’m ready to go back to the farm and caring for my children.”

Did you know, to find a woman like Keriya who is living with fistula, often in isolation and fear, and transport her to hospital for surgery it costs $122? In Australia that might equal a new pair of shoes or two, or half a week’s worth of groceries for a family; yet in Ethiopia that equals a new life and safer, brighter future for a woman and her family.