Meet Mary. She is 42 years old and comes from Shanyanga, a rural region in Northern Tanzania.
In 1999, Mary was in labour for more than 24 hours, and she delivered a dead baby. She also suffered a horrific fistula, because of her long and protracted labour.
Mary’s husband abandoned her after seeing that, because of her injury, she was leaking urine all the time. Mary also injured her body after falling down. Different hospitals treated her, but her condition didn’t improve.
Mary traveled to the city of Arusha in Northern Tanzania to look for a way to survive. She begged in the streets, and sent what little money she could, back to her family.
In 2021, someone brought her to Maternity Africa’s Kivulini Maternity Centre outside Arusha. The doctors operated on her, but, sadly, they were unable to heal her fistula.
Mary would love to run a small shop, selling different foods, to help restore her dignity. That way, she can also restrict her movements, which are painful for her. Maternity Africa’s social workers undertook some research and discovered that USD 700 to USD 850 (GBP 550 to GBP 675) could provide Mary with the start-up capital needed to launch her business.
If you would like to help Mary set up her small business, please follow this link. Thank you.