Phebe, Bong County – In mixed emotions, including tears of joy and what lies ahead of them, 18 graduates of the UNFPA-supported Fistula Rehabilitation and Reintegration Project with funding from Zonta International are urging their benefactors and others not to stop their support toward the program.
The 13th indoor graduation ceremony at the Phebe Hospital, held on Thursday, September 13, was graced by the representatives of line ministries and agencies of government, local government representation, students, and other supporting agencies namely Dignity Liberia, the Catholic Hospital, among others.
The huge partnership that has been invested in the rehabilitation and reintegration process lends a sense of solemnity to “ending the isolation” of the Fistula survivors – as an inscription on the white t-shirt of the graduates.
The indoor event was preceded by the cutting of ribbon of the newly reconstructed Palava Hut funded by Dignity Liberia and a Kitchen by UNFPA at the Rehab center.
Keynote Speaker Madam Darboi D.G. Korkoyah, Monitoring and Evaluation Manager of Liberia Board of Nursing and Midwifery (LBNM), entreated the survivors to see their rehabilitation and reintegration effort as journey into time with challenges.
“I was emotionally touched when I heard you sing the song ‘Give me ammunition let me go to the battlefield,’ as a demonstration of your strong will power to get over adversity. The start-up packages and training skills in Tailoring, Pastry, Cosmetology and Soap making must be seen as weapons that will conquer despairs and stigmatization,” she told the fistula survivors.
She provided three-point techniques that the survivors must consider to tackle the difficulties of reintegration including advocacy, negotiation and good communication skills.
She cautioned the graduates to rise above harboring hate by displaying forgiveness to those that had victimized and scorned them. She urged them to be agents of change in dealing with the factors that cause Fistula by assuming new roles as productive citizens.
She singled out one negotiation area with those survivors whose spouses will have difficulty in coming to terms with the minimum 18-month sexual abstinence regimen that must be observed.
“You should get them to understand why this medical advice must be observed for safety reasons by communicating well with your husbands to be supportive.”
Dr. John Mullah, the man credited with leading the campaign to end fistula in Liberia through surgical repairs, noted that the Ebola outbreak in 2014 contributed to the rise in fistula cases in Liberia as pregnant women had little or no access to health centers to deliver.
As he delivered certificates to the graduate, Dr. Mulbah implored the survivors to be serious with their economic and social integration packages and make good use of the mobile phones to check up and maintain a good network among their peers.
He told the audience that some of the previous graduates have emerged as successful entrepreneurs and even constructed homes to rise above stigma.
He used the occasion to recommit to helping the fight against Fistula condition in prevention, repair and reintegration by forming a local NGO dedicated to that aspect of humanitarian intervention.
Bong County Health Officer, Dr. Adolphus Yeiah, alluded to obstetric fistula as akin to the biblical woman with the “issue of blood,” whose desperate faith as illustrated by her grabbing the garment of the Messiah for healing must be remembered by the survivors to hold fast to their newfound opportunities as they arise from a distressful situation.
A highlight of the ceremony was a skit performed by the graduates to showcase the circumstances and consequences of Obstetric Fistula among young girls and women. It unravels the contextual realities of poverty, misguided teenage wild adventurism, and inaccessibility to health center.
The Representative of the Gbarnga City Mayor’s office appealed to UNFPA to sustain the skit as a behavior change tool for schools.
Monitoring and evaluation of the reintegration packages doled out to Fistula survivors has been one weak link of the process and, of the Deputy Director of the Family Health Division of the Ministry Health, Mrs. Minnie Sirtor-Bowier, implored the graduates to keep the numbers of the phones open at all times.
“Make effort to retrieve them when lost so that we can reach you anytime the need arises;” she urged the survivors.
The reintegration packages constituted sewing machines, lappas and ancillary tailoring materials, tubs, hairdressing materials in wigs, framed mirror and chemicals, bags of baking flour and relevant pastry condiments, can of oil and caustic soda; plus, US$100 to each of the graduates was doled to the graduates based on their specialty.