Aisha
Uganda
Aisha’s journey began with a challenging search of medical care.
When Aisha went into labor, her mother arranged a boda boda (motorcycle) ride to the nearest health facility. Nurses told her she wouldn’t deliver until the next day, but her mother insisted on a referral to Muyembe Health Centre IV. Upon arrival, they discovered no doctor was available, requiring another transfer. Faced with the prohibitive ambulance cost, they once again resorted to a boda boda for the journey to Kapchorwa Health Centre IV, hoping it would finally offer the care Aisha needed.
It took us an hour to reach and there was a line of women… I waited for three hours. It was painful. After I was operated, I asked my mother where my baby was and she did not respond, she just started crying.
Aisha not only suffered the loss of her baby but also developed an obstetric fistula. She describes waking up in wet, foul-smelling bed sheets and not understanding what had happened. A catheter was inserted, and she was advised to return to the health center in two weeks. During this time, her husband left her, blaming her for the loss of the baby.
Now I was going to be a single mother to my children. I pitied myself, if someone was going through the same thing I went through I would not know what to tell them to make them feel better.
Aisha returned to the clinic and was referred to Terrewode Women’s Community Hospital, where she underwent surgery. Following additional physiotherapy, she was now healed.
Aisha is enrolled in TERREWODE’s reintegration program, receiving support for economic empowerment to build a better future for herself and her children.
I am so happy now. I can’t believe that I am healed. ”I want to start a business and keep my children in school.
