A Walk to Beautiful

Try getting your boyfriend to watch a documentary about obstetric fistula, and see what happens. Just try it.

At first he will recoil. When you wheedle, he will resist. You will attempt dirty guilt tactics to no avail. Finally, you will ignore him and pop A Walk to Beautiful into the DVD player anyway and bawl uncontrollably while he “works on his laptop” (one eye on the television) and holds your hand.

A Walk to Beautiful chronicles the lives of five Ethiopian women who have suffered the devastating effects of unassisted, obstructed childbirth. After seven to ten days of labor, their babies are stillborn and their bodies ravaged by fistulas - holes that form between the vagina and the bladder or rectum that cause incontinence and nerve damage in the feet and legs. Shamed by the constant leaking of their body fluids, these women are rejected by their husbands, families and communities, and are forced into seclusion and destitution. They live in utter misery, hoping and waiting for death.



But their condition is not life threatening; it can be reversed through a simple procedure that costs $300. When they hear this, the five women find their way to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, traveling long distances by foot in search of a cure. When they reach the hospital, they are treated by the gracious, courageous staff, who gently nurture them to health. It’s impossible to watch the doctors and nurses in this film and not feel incredibly small and insignificant. They are superb human beings – their commitment to serving the most disenfranchised and marginalized group in Ethiopia (and in 44 countries across the world) is staggering. Their joy in giving women their lives back - in giving them hope - is so inspiring. I am in awe.

(What am I doing with my life?)

Check out the film, learn more about fistula across the world, and get involved.