A Walk To Beautiful

A Walk To Beautiful is a film that chronicles the journey of 5 Ethiopian women who have been isolated, shamed, and left longing for social acceptance. Their spirits are broken, some even suicidal, but all hoping for a better life. These beautiful women suffer from Obstetric Fistula, which according to the film's website, is a hole that forms between the vagina and the bladder or rectum during prolonged obstructed child labor. This causes the women to have uncontrollable leakage of urine and therefore they are ostracized by their families and communities.

According to the World Health Organization, 2 million women live with fistulas worldwide. Most women are never cured, but rather they live in isolation waiting to die. These women are poor and live in poor countries where adequate medical care is not available. In Ethiopia, there is a population of 77 million people, but there are only 59 OB/GYN's and 1000 midwives. Obstetric Fistula is preventable if these women could receive proper medical care during childbirth.

But for so many of these broken women, there is a glimmer of hope, the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital. Dr. Catherine Hamlin and her late husband have dedicated their lives to curing fistulas and making so many women feel beautiful again.

The operation to fix a fistula cost $450, but no expense is passed on to the patients because of generous donations. To learn more about the Addis Adaba Fistula Hospital, fistulas, and to even make a donation, visit www.fistulafoundation.org.

The video below highlights Ayehu, a young Ethiopian woman who embarked on a 17 hour journey to the Addis Adaba Fistula Hospital to become beautiful again. To learn more about A Walk To Beautiful, visit www.walktobeautiful.com.

Click on post title to view Walk To Beautiful in its entirety.