Day 13 - Desda Mender and the Hamlin College of Midwives

Today we saw the remaining different operations of the Hamlin operations, the college of midwives (program to prevent future fistulas) and Desda Mender (literally "joy village"), set up as a farm and residential community for long-term patients whose fistulas were too medically complex to repair, and were thought to need life-long care. These two facilities co-exist on a large rural block of land that was gifted to Catherine Hamlin by the Ethiopian President (or at least given to the Hamlin organisation by the Ethiopian government)
The college provides an internationally recognised professional qualification in midwifery to the girls and this is fully funded by the Hamlin organisation (ie free to students). The students are selected from the regions where there is greatest need of remote rural midwifery services, and the entrance standard is high, so the selection process is quite a business. Usually in these areas the families cannot afford to educate all of their children and the usual pressures of Ethiopian society push them into educaton boys rather rhan girls. This makes the available pool of girls smaller and the task of selection more exacting.
In any event, this 4 year course has between 20 and 25 students in each year class, and they commit to working as assigned on graduation for a mnimum of 4 years in return for the free education,board, and lodging received for 4 years.
Desda Mender was set up as a safe and supportive place where the very small percentage of fistula patients that can't be cured can live out their lives in a sipportive and productive environment.
This system has recently changed under new management with a new philosophy of training these women for a return to society in some self-supporting capacity. They are taught skills and crafts, put into contact with micro-finance providers, and generally assisted to prepare for life outside rhe cossetted environment there. Now the plan is for a stay here of around 3 months rather rhan an indefinite number of years. It seems ro be working and is mich more sustainable than the previous system where the facility was approaching capacity.
We ended our visit with lunch at the Juniper Tree cafe within the grounds where they serve a well-made and delicious meat pie (Australian style).