Votoka has ended 2024 on a high, filled with love and hope for the future, and a renewed dedication to the prevention of obstetric fistula.
We have spent the last few months adapting to change - which is never easy! However, change also brings growth, so we are grateful for the chance to grow. For the past two years we have supported operations campaigns in Bie, Huila and Moxico. Since September we have begun adjusting to the opening of a new fistula waiting house in Luanda: "Vangulula House". The centre is attached to the Maternal-Infant Hospital where the operating surgeons are based. It means sending patients to Luanda (a 12-14 hour trip from Bie, or 2-3 days from Moxico), rather than receiving them in our base of operations. To respond to these changes we have adapted our trauma and reintegration program, hired a new Trauma Counsellor to work fulltime in Luanda, hired a new Campaign and Awareness Coordinator, and spent many hours travelling on buses with our patients!
We closed out 2024 with three major events:
a Christmas Party for the patients at Vangulula House, with the cakes and snacks prepared with love by our new Trauma Counsellor Ester
a renewal of our partnership with CICA (Board of Christian Churches of Angola)
a meeting with the Minister of Health of Angola, Dr Silvia Lutucuta
We are incredibly proud to be able to help and serve the women who suffer from obstetric fistula, to partner with such a broad organisation as CICA, and to be able to present our work to the Minister of Health. We hope this leads to greater engagement on the prevention of obstetric fistula and will engender greater awareness about the existence of obstetric fistula in Angola and in our communities.
We would like to share a visual snapshot of the last two months with you. Rain, hail, or shine (or more rain!), Votoka works hard to spread awareness about Obstetric Fistula across as many regions of Angola as possible. In churches, marketplaces, hospitals, health posts, government offices, in villages and in peoples homes we work with the local community to educate about WHAT obstetric fistula is, HOW it can be prevented, and the TREATMENT options that exist for women that suffer from this terrible injury.
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