Dignity:Liberia Receives Pledges from Rotary Clubs

Funding to Equip a Fistula Clinic in Rural Liberia

The Loveland Rotary Club and the Monrovia Rotary Club have pledged 80% of the funds required in order for Dignity:Liberia to receive matching funds from Rotary International. The grant will be used to equip its fistula clinic in rural Liberia.

Funds will be used for an application to Rotary International for a $50,000 global grant for the purpose of equipping delivery room/operative suites and an obstetric clinic for prenatal and postnatal care for women in rural Liberia. Once operational, Dignity:Liberia’s clinic will offer surgical repairs and self-care support for women with obstetric fistula. The nonprofit will also provide training for nurse midwifery, medical and nursing students, as well as graduate physician residents in prevention and treatment of obstetric fistula.

Obstetric fistula impacts about 1,200 Liberian women annually. It is a severe tear between a woman’s birth canal and her bladder or her rectum, typically resulting from obstructed labor or from sexual assault. On average, Liberian fistula patients are seventeen years old and have had their fistula for five years. Without prevention or treatment of fistulas, they can expect lifelong suffering from physical pain, social shame, and chronic symptoms such as incontinence.

The host Partner for this humanitarian project is the Rotary Club of Monrovia. The Rotary Club of Loveland, CO is the primary international partner. Dignity:Liberia board member and Rotarian, Becky Mueller Huner, R.N., is scheduled to speak at the Georgetown, TX Rotary Club about this project at its December Meeting.

Dignity:Liberia is a nonprofit, 501c3 organization with ten years of experience providing maternal care, specifically the prevention and treatment of obstetric fistula. Its board members either grew up in Liberia or have developed close ties to the country as adults. Dignity:Liberia is also a registered Liberian NGO. The organization partners with the local medical and business communities, and those working closest with fistula survivors. Dignity:Liberia’s fundraising campaign, The Big Push, also continues.

Dignity:Liberia
Kathi Gutierrez
Founder, President and Executive Director
(816) 217-8751
[email protected]
https://www.dignityliberia.org