Day 4 - now this is why we came to Ethiopia

Today we spent the whole day at the Hamlin Fistula Hospital “by the river” in Addis Ababa.
What an experience. We spent most of the morning listening to the CEO (Martin) who explained the history of the Hamlins and their establishment in Addis, up to the current operations and future plans. Overall, there is now much more cooperation from the government, particularly in the regions, than in earlier times. Hamlin regional hospitals are built in the grounds of the local government hospitals, and Hamlin-trained midwives (world class education and very high standard) are able to mentor government-trained midwives (inconsistent standard) in regional settings, greatly improving the outcomes for all concerned.
After lunch with Martin and some of his staff we were given a comprehensive tour of the facilities, and then had free time to interact with the patients. These women have been through an absolutely unimaginably horrific nightmare, some of them for many years, but are all so grateful that they have been literally been given another chance at life at this place and in this way. Yet they are relaxed enough to laugh and dance with “farenji” (foreigners) and lots were absolutely begging for their photo to be taken with one of us or each other. Without any common language they made it absolutely clear that they want us to send prints for them to put up on the wall.
Overall a very positive day for all, and a humbling and moving experience for us.