[home]

Fistula Stories began with a conversation at a Women, Faith and Development Alliance conference, and a grant from the UN Foundation to work on raising awareness of obstetric fistula (more here).  The aim of this pilot project is to work with Christian young women (ages 18-30) to raise awareness and build confidence for advocacy and action towards ending obstetric fistula with this generation.  This curriculum also examines the connections between faith and action, exploring the complex components of giving and organizing here to help women there.  Through intentional conversations and actions we hope to work to bridge the divide and create a world where all women are valued.

The title “Fistula Stories” seeks to honor the courage and dignity of women who are obstetric fistula patients and survivors by listening to their stories and by connecting them to the stories of obstetric fistula doctors, fistula advocates around the world, and the young women studying obstetric fistula using this curriculum.  The word “story” is important for many reasons.  The basis of the Christian faith is laid out in the Bible, and it is through the telling of these sacred stories that the community learns what it means to live our Christian faith.  Women have often been storytellers, preserving for their communities the important memories of where they come from and who they are.  It is critical, especially for young women, to learn that each of us has our own story to tell, and to learn how to hear one another’s story and share our own with integrity and respect.

These stories are not always comfortable stories of happiness or triumph; in fact they are often stories of trouble and oppression.  Arguably the most important story in Christianity is one of suffering and death.  Stories that make us uncomfortable often are teaching us the most about life and about hope for the future.  We must listen to these fistula stories carefully and humbly, considering what it might mean for women who have suffered shame and isolation to share their stories publicly.

Many women’s stories are told in the pages of this curriculum and on our website www.fistulastories.org.  Each woman tells her own story and has given permission for her story to be made public.  We honor their stories by listening with open hearts and finding the places where our stories connect.  We hope that our website will become a locus of this connection, as its blog features not only the story of women affected personally by fistula, but the stories of the women using this curriculum and many others in between.  In this way we hope to join together in solidarity as we stand together to end to fistula in this generation.

It is with great hope and humility that we present this curriculum, and we hope that you find it useful as we labor together to bring God’s justice to our world.

Sincerely,
Meagan Manas
Fistula Grant Coordinator
Women’s Ministries at the National Council of Churches of Christ

Contact Us
Meagan Manas and/or Ann Tiemeyer
Fistula Stories
475 Riverside Drive, Suite 800
New York, NY 10115

Meagan’s office phone: 212-870-2516
Meagan’s email: mmanas@ncccusa.org

Our Partners
The National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
Women’s Ministries at the NCC
The United Nations Foundation

Special Thanks to:
Our Designer, Robert Brunson
The United Nations Population Fund
Operation Healing Hope