Healing Arts Update

This new program was begun in September 2006 to support women recovering from fistula repair in improving their income-generation skills. They are making and selling skirts, tops, bracelets, placemats, baskets and baby layettes.

Before Healing Arts, most of the 120 women waiting for or recovering from fistula surgery were hopeless and wandering. If a woman returned home with nothing to show from her time away, she would continue to be looked upon as a worthless.

After surgery, the women are required to stay at the hospital while they heal. The doctors found that fistulas would often reoccur because some women were sexually active after surgery in order to make money for when they returned home.

There were ten women recently released who had complete recovery with no complaints. Healing Arts has contributed to facilitate the medical repair, because many women are no longer prostituting themselves.

One woman said, "at home I was despised by my brother-in-law who is a tailor. He would always tell me I could not help him, that I did not have any skills". Now she says, "I will go home and tell him, I have also become a tailor."

Another woman said, "we have been overwhelmed with exceeding joy from God and people will be amazed at what you do when you do things with joy."

Healing Arts also funds a school for children at the hospital for long periods of time.