Malian Women making Beaded Jewelry

In 1986 Doctors of the World, an NGO, set up a hospital in Mopti, Mali to repair obstetric fistulas of women from the surrounding rural areas. Obstetric fistulas are the result of prolonged labor, lack of pre-natal care, a scarcity of qualified midwives, and pre-adolescent girls giving birth. Many, if not most, rural Malian women give birth at home since 85% live at least 30 km from the nearest hospital. Although the problem is almost unheard of in the U.S., it is estimated that in developing countries 50,000 to 100,000 women a year suffer from the indignities of this condition. After a very difficult labor and the resulting damage to internal organs, many women are abandoned by their families and become outcasts in their communities.  Every year at the hospital in Mopti, over 200 women receive operations to repair their obstetric fistulas. After the procedure, most of the women, instead of returning home, decide to stay near the hospital for up to a year, receiving counseling, education and often a second or third surgery. During this time Delta Survie, SERRV’s newest partner, trains the women to produce handcrafts, generating income for them while they recover and developing skills which can be used in the future to help support their families.