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HEALTH · OBSTETRIC FISTULAMay 2019

A week-long camp, and the hope it restored.

In May 2019, a Free Fistula Camp in Garissa offered corrective surgery and care to women living with obstetric fistula — and carried a public message that no woman should ever suffer its shame.

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The original post@Fountain_FOH · X

“I wish to reiterate that Obstetric Fistula is preventable. It can be largely be avoided by delaying the age of first pregnancy, the cessation of harmful traditional practices such as FGM, early marriages and timely access to obstetric care.”

24 May 2019 · @Fountain_FOH on X
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In May 2019, Garissa hosted a week-long Free Fistula Camp — corrective surgery and care for women living with obstetric fistula, and a stand that no woman should carry its burden alone. The camp also delivered the harder message: obstetric fistula is preventable.

The story

A week that closed a long journey.

For the women who underwent corrective surgery, the camp marked the end of years of pain, bitterness, shame and stigma — and the beginning of a message Garissa would keep repeating.

Frame 01 / 03Care and support at the Free Fistula Camp in Garissa

On the ground at the Free Fistula Camp — a week that changed lives.

Free Fistula Camp · May 2019
Frame 02 / 03The Free Fistula Camp in session in Garissa

The camp in session — women supported through corrective surgery and recovery.

Free Fistula Camp · May 2019
Frame 03 / 03Marking the end of the week-long Free Fistula Camp

Marking the end of the week — and the end of a long journey for many women.

Free Fistula Camp · May 2019
— The story —

A week, and what it closed.

For the many women who underwent corrective surgery, the camp marked the end of a long journey of pain, bitterness, shame and stigma. It is the kind of restoration no single clinic visit can capture.

And the week carried a second message — obstetric fistula is preventable.

May 2019 · week-long camp
Garissa County, North Eastern Kenya
Corrective surgery · care · awareness
Note for the team: captions are drawn from @Fountain_FOH’s posts (24 May 2019). Confirm photo-to-person and venue attribution against the originals before publishing.
The discussion, unpacked

A preventable sorrow, and the work to end it.

What the camp restored for the women who came — and the prevention the whole week insisted on.

01 Before surgery, prevention

The Free Fistula Camp treated what decades of neglect left behind — but its loudest message was about what should never happen again: obstetric fistula is preventable. It can be largely avoided by delaying the age of first pregnancy, the cessation of harmful traditional practices such as FGM and early marriages, and timely access to obstetric care.

Those are the same commitments Okoa Mama na Mtoto would carry into Garissa years later — the camp was the January to that movement’s harvest.

02 What the camp stood for

Corrective care
Women who had lived with the condition underwent corrective surgery — the end of a long journey of shame and stigma.
The message
No woman should suffer the shame of obstetric fistula — spoken from the heart of the camp.
The prevention
Delayed first pregnancy · end FGM and early marriage · timely obstetric care.
“
It was the end of a long journey of pain, bitterness, shame and stigma for the many women who have undergone the corrective surgery. No woman should suffer the shame of obstetric fistula.
Fountain of Hope · Free Fistula Camp, on X

03 A chapter in this site’s story

The Free Fistula Camp belongs to the same story as the room of budget-makers in 2025: the same Garissa mothers, the same preventable conditions, the same stand that care must reach the most neglected women — from the 2019 camp week to the national SASA commitment.

The day in photos

The camp, in frames.

Five photographs from the Free Fistula Camp week. Click each one to view it full screen.

In the record

What the record shows.

The documented record of the care that stood behind the Free Fistula Camp week.

RMNCAHGarissa referral hospital

Safeguarding reproductive health rights of women with obstetric fistula

Date
May 2019
Reach / Impact
23 women had their dignity restored through free reconstructive surgery.

Documented in Fountain of Hope's portfolio of interventions.

Support the work

Stand with the women who lead this change.

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