Hope Quilts focuses on women with VVF in Goma, Congo at Heal Africa Hospital.  The hospital offers expert surgery and is a major resource in Eastern Congo which has one of the highest rates of violent rape aginst women in the world.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates that only 6,500 surgeries are performed each year in spite of the fact that there are an estimated 2 million women worldwide with fistulas in need of repair.

What is Traumatic Fistula?

Traumatic fistula is the result of violent rape followed by a foreign object (rifle, knife, stick) being forced into the vagina and surrounding organs, causing severe tears between the vagina and bladder or tears between the vagina and rectum.  Rebel soldiers inflict this atrocity against women as weapon of war.

Consequences of Fistulas

Fistulas allow the continuous involuntary flow of urine into the vagina (vesicovaginal fistula) or feces into the vagina (vaginal rectal fistula). The organ damage and odor results in women being ostracized, unable to perform normal urination or defecation and unable to perform sexually. There is a profound psychosocial impact on the women as they cope with the trauma, their image as women and separation from their families and the communities

What is VVF?

Fistula is the medical term for an abnormal opening (hole) between two organs. The most common type is called a vesicovaginal fistula (VVF). The word “vesico” refers to the urinary bladder. Thus a vesicovaginal fistula is an abnormal opening between the urinary bladder and the vagina. It is also possible to have a vaginal-rectal fistula and vesico-vaginal-rectal fistula in which there is an additional abnormal opening between the vagina and the rectum.

How are fistulas treated?

Fistulas require surgical repair. Infection as a result of the trauma is frequent and must be treated before surgery can proceed. Some women may have sexually transmitted infections if the fistula is a result of rape including syphilis, gonorrhea, and HIV.  If the damage is severe surgeries may need to be repeated 2 to 3 times, extending hospital stays to more than 6 months.