March 12, 2008

A night with Dr Catherine Hamlin, Pittwater Uniting Church

Pittwater Uniting Church will host Dr Catherine Hamlin as guest speaker on Tuesday March 25 at 7.30 pm.

Dr Hamlin has dedicated almost 50 years to helping women in Ethiopia who are suffering from fistula. Dr Hamlin and her team of doctors have cured more than 24,000 women and given them new hope and a new life. In 1999, Dr Hamlin was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1958, two Australian obstetricians, husband and wife team Reginald and Catherine Hamlin, went to Ethiopia to train midwives. The plight of many young mothers struggling in poverty touched their hearts and the couple decided to stay to help them.

The two doctors developed a surgical procedure that helps lead to a complete cure of fistula resulting from obstructed childbirth. Then in 1974, they established the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, which has since treated and cured over 24,000 women.

Dr Reg Hamlin passed away in 1993 but, aged 82, Catherine Hamlin continues to work in Ethiopia.

“Never for a moment have I felt like retiring, or wanted to change my life or my work,” said Dr Hamlin. “I still operate several times a week, and my hands are as steady as ever.” 

Treatment for fistula gives women the opportunity to live a life free of rejection and shame.

Dr Hamlin charges no fees for her services and turns no one away. The Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital relies entirely on donations.

Condemned to a life of misery

Fistula is a prevalent problem in poverty-stricken Ethiopia. The lack of medical facilities and remote regions which are virtually inaccessible make it extremely difficult for pregnant women to seek help. Thousands of women suffer agonising labour, sometimes lasting days and often resulting in fistula and the death of their babies.

Young women with fistula injuries suffer a fate worse than death. They become social outcasts, sometimes even shunned by their husbands and families to a life of rejection, separation, pain, loneliness and shame.

Gift of health and dignity

To help more women, especially those who are too poor or weak to find their way to the city, Dr Hamlin has started setting up regional medical centres in rural areas.

“I had dreamt of one day having a village for these women to live together in a community, in some ways like the villages they left behind, so that they would in feel like citizens of this world again,” said Dr Hamlin.

In 2004, Dr Hamlin was named a National Living Treasure of Australia by the National Trust of Australia.

Dr Catherine Hamlin will speak at Pittwater Uniting Church, 10 Jubilee St, Warriewood, on Tuesday March 25 at 7.30 pm. For more information, call (02) 9997 2386 or 0412 413 597.

Apart from a reception at the University of Sydney, this will be Dr Hamlin’s only speaking engagement in Sydney during her visit in March.