Safe Motherhood Ambassador Mebret

It’s hard to believe that Mebret is only 19 years old and has already endured more hardship than most of us will face in a lifetime. When she first arrived at the Healing Hands of Joy rehabilitation center, her petite stature and bright demeanor made her seem more like the daughter of a woman affected by obstetric fistula, not a patient herself. But Mebret’s story is her own—a testament to her resilience, courage, and determination to overcome.

Mebret, whose name fittingly means “bright”, comes from conflict-affected Tigray.  Like so many young women there, she was forced to grow up too quickly. At 15, in the midst of war, she married in hopes of finding protection from the threat of sexual violence.  Being pregnant in wartime is also dangerous, especially if access to a birth facility is difficult at best.

After enduring three days of agonizing labor, Mebret and her family were forced to sell their most valuable possessions—a cow and its calf—to finance the risky and dangerous journey to a distant open health center. By the time they reached it, she’d lost her baby. But her heartbreak didn’t stop there. She soon realized she could no longer control her urine and was diagnosed with obstetric fistula, a devastating childbirth injury that leaves women and girls with continual incontinence and isolated from their family and community. Fortunately, she did not have a long wait to get surgery.

Today, she is fully cured and filled with new hope. Her eyes sparkle when she talks about her future plans to open a small shop and begin a new life. At Healing Hands of Joy, Mebret found the treatment and care she needed to heal—not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually. She is learning so much and excited to become a Safe Motherhood Ambassador, a role where she will use her story to educate other women about pregnancy and safe motherhood.