Habibou Found Healing, Then Helped Another Woman Find It Too
Habibou developed obstetric fistula while giving birth in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. Her baby did not survive, and Habibou was left grieving while also coping with constant leakage she did not know how to stop.
For five months, she searched for a cure. The physical effects of fistula were difficult enough, but the embarrassment surrounding the uncontrollable leaking made each day harder. Eventually, Habibou was referred to ARENA Medical Center in Ouagadougou, where she met Dr. Itengre.
After examining her, he reassured Habibou that he had successfully treated many women living with the same injury.
“He let me know he was going to take care of me.”
The next day, Habibou underwent surgery.
It was successful.
When she woke up, she was dry.
After months of living with fistula, Habibou could finally return home without the constant leaking that had followed her since childbirth. But what happened next made her story about more than her own recovery.
Back in Bobo-Dioulasso, Habibou knew another woman who was also living with fistula. Having experienced successful treatment herself, Habibou understood that her friend did not have to continue suffering without answers. She returned to ARENA with her.
Her friend received treatment and was healed too.
The two women then participated in ARENA’s socioeconomic reintegration program, where they learned practical skills for building greater financial independence. They received training on how to start and manage small businesses, along with seed funding to help them begin.
For Habibou, healing continued to move outward.
She began returning to ARENA regularly, not because she needed more treatment, but because she wanted other women to know what she had learned through her own experience. She now helps educate women about obstetric fistula and shares her story so others understand that the condition is treatable.
“We know today that having fistula is not the end of the world.”
Habibou’s journey shows the power of one survivor reaching another. She found treatment, then helped a friend find it too. Reintegration gave them tools to rebuild economically, and Habibou turned her own experience into a source of information and hope for other women.
Her healing did not stop with her.
It became something she could carry back into her community.
Help Survivors Carry Hope Forward
Habibou’s treatment changed her own life, but the impact did not stop there. She helped another woman reach care and now uses her experience to help others understand that fistula can be treated.
Your support helps locally led partners provide specialized treatment, reintegration, and opportunities for survivors to become trusted voices in their communities.
