After a life filled with tribulations caused by an obstetric fistula Adeline Hommel, 41, is smiling again. Mother of one daughter, Adeline works as a ward assistant at the National treatment center in N'Djamena, and lives in the Dembé district of the 7th arrondissement of the capital city.
Tragedy caused by forced child marriage
At the age of 14 Adeline was married off against her will by her uncle to a man in the village of Mbidakia. "I was forced into marriage by my uncle, who tied me up and promised to kill me if I didn't obey his decision,” she said. She became pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl. Unsurprisingly, her body was not ready for childbirth and she endured a difficult delivery with a potentially fatal complication. "When I gave birth, I was in labor for 2 days before I was taken by cart to Babalem hospital. I was operated on there", she said.
Adeline and her child survived but she was left with an obstetric fistula, a lesion of the pelvic-genital tract caused by a long and difficult labour during childbirth. Fistula results in incontinence and exposes women to multiple problems.
Living with the ordeal of Fistula
Adeline lived with her husband for a year before he left her, all the while suffering from fistula. In all, she lived 13 years with the medical condition. It was an unbearable ordeal she says. “I was convinced I was going to die. I spent long nights crying in silence because I was so distressed and desperate", she said. Stigmatized by her community, Adeline was ostracized. Gossip about her health was rife in the village. Rejected, isolated and morally exhausted, she had no means to feed herself and her daughter. "I tried to start a small business in the village, but no one would buy my goods,” she said.
Her mother ended up staying with her and shared the minimum she had. "My mother, who is single, supported me during this time but she was also destitute and didn't have the means to support us,” she said.
Adeline went to several hospitals hoping for treatment, but without success. No one could direct her to the proper medical service. She gave up hoping ever being able to live a normal life, condemned to live in pain with fistula.
Suddenly, there’s light at the end of the tunnel
"Then in March 2019, a nurse informed of my situation called to tell me that fistula could be treated at the National Fistula Center in N'Djamena! That's how I came to N'Djamena for the operation,” she said. Adeline underwent four operations. The last surgery took place in April 2020 and finally repaired her fistula.
With the support of UNFPA, reconstructive surgery and care for women is free of charge at the National Fistula Treatment Center in N'Djamena. Overnight, Adeline's life was transformed. "It's like a dream," she says of her newfound hope.
UNFPA supports the National Fistula Treatment Centre (NFTC) to save and transform lives
Today, Adeline has regained her happiness, health and dignity. With the support of UNFPA she was able to benefit from appropriate clinical care and socio-economic reintegration. Her life has been saved and transformed. She currently works as a ward assistant at the NFTC.
"As I have trained in first aid, the NFTC recruited me. I am in charge of the psychosocial care of women suffering from fistula who are undergoing treatment at the center", she said. Adeline is on the way to realizing her full potential. "On top of my salary, I'm looking to other income-generating activities to enable me to have the means to buy a plot of land, build and live a happier life with my daughter in our own home,” she said.
Adeline's renewed zest for life is a source of satisfaction for UNFPA, which works tirelessly to support the NFTC in saving and transforming the lives of thousands of women like Adeline.
Saving and transforming women's lives is much more than a slogan at UNFPA.
UNFPA supports the NFTC in strengthening their technical services and the skills of its care staff to enable the many women like Adeline to regain their health after fistula, and lead a healthy and dignified life.
