Sarah

Kenya

This year marks the 10-year Anniversary of the Let’s End Fistula Initiative (LEFI), WFF’s local Kenyan partner. Sarah Omega, the founder and Executive Director of LEFI, shares her journey with fistula and how this childbirth injury changed her life completely.

Sarah lost her parents when she was 11 years old. At age 19, Sarah was raped and left with an unexpected pregnancy. Everything in her pregnancy was normal until it came time to deliver. Without money for the maternity fee and no support system she decided to deliver alone at her home

After almost 18 hours of labor, a good Samaritan came to her rescue and took her to the nearest health facility but she had already lost her baby. She was then referred to a different health facility for a C-section. When she woke up the next morning she realized she was leaking urine. Sarah had developed a fistula and remained hospitalized for two months with no treatment for her condition.

Sarah was discharged from the hospital but continued leaking. She was isolated from her community and living in constant pain. After 12 years of suffering in silence, Sarah had stopped living her life and fell victim to severe depression. It wasn’t until she was committed to a psychiatric ward that she was finally informed of proper treatment for her fistula.

Her surgery was a success! Now fully healed, Sarah used her experience to create LEFI and helps other women seek treatment and provides support to become whole again.

Thank you G4 Alliance for highlighting Sarah’s incredible story!