27-year-old Catherine, a mother of three, met Maternity Africa’s fistula outreach team in Dodoma Region three months ago when they were screening for patients. She has three children, and her fourth baby was stillborn, and Catherine developed a fistula.
Catherine agreed to travel to Maternity Africa’s Kivulini Maternity Centre, around 400km, for surgery. Whilst with us, a local volunteer trained Catherine in entrepreneurship skills, and she also learned how to make mandazi (a flour-based snack).
Catherine was healed from her fistula, and was discharged, ‘dry’, in early March. Maternity Africa provided her with a ‘starter pack’ so that she could start her own small business. Her pack included wheat flour, cooking oil, some baking powder, and some salt, altogether costing $12, £9. When she got home, she started her mandazi-making business. At the end of the first week, she had used up the initial start-up materials that Maternity Africa provided for her. Using her profits, she purchased 25kg of flour and more oil, which lasted her two weeks and generated a profit of $11, £8.
Before coming to Kivulini Maternity Centre for surgery and care, Catherine struggled to provide for food and other basic needs. Now, with her new baking and business skills, she can provide for the basic needs of her family.
If you would like to help Maternity Africa to help people like Catherine, please follow this link. Thank you.
Pictured: Catherine with the starter pack that Maternity Africa provided, to start her own business.