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Operation Healing Hope


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Written: 5/27/2010

Operation Healing Hope is the United Methodist Global Health Initiative to end obstetric fistula.  It is part of an international movement dedicated to meeting the goal of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) of eradicating this hidden epidemic by 2015.
 
Obstetric fistula affects women and girls in poor regions of the world.  It is usually caused by several days of obstructed labor, without timely medical intervention – typically a Caesarean section to relieve the pressure.  The consequences of fistula are life-shattering:  the baby usually dies and the woman is left with chronic incontinence and may be paralyzed.  She is often abandoned or neglected by her husband and family and ostracized by her community.
 
A group of women at Bellbrook United Methodist Church, Miami Valley District participated in a study about obtetric fistula.  As a part of the commitment to study about this medical epidemic, the group made a "vision quilt" to be sent to Camphor United Methodist Mission in Tubmanville, Liberia where it will be put in the hands of a Traditional Birth Assistant.
 
With over 2 million sufferers worldwide, obstetric fistula is considered a “hidden epidemic” because its victims often live in the shadows of communities and societies.  They are victims of a terrible childbearing injury that leaves them incontinent and vulnerable to further injury, illness and isolation; they are also victims of systems that do not provide them with healthcare, proper water, nutrition, housing, transportation, and ways to earn a living.
 
 In creating and giving this quilt, the women of Bellbrook United Methodist Church stand in solidarity with victims of fistula and survivors.  We pray that a mother and child will enjoy its beauty, softness and warmth.  With each stitch we pray for a healthy birth.