Social Reintegration

“Social reintegration of women and girls affected by Fistula is a process”

For Shadiah Umuhirwe, family reunion, children and a wedding was the climax.

We recognize surgery alone is not sufficient to successfully heal treated women and girls from the trauma they suffered with obstetric fistula. As such, we are also committed to improving post-surgical care and social rehabilitation.

Our approach to social reintegration involves the following components:

Continual counseling for the affected woman or girl, her husband and family.
Individual assessment to establish reintegration needs and subsequent empowerment training.
Vocational training and entrepreneurial skills development for those needing support economically for improved livelihoods.

We have a dedicated Women’s Empowerment and Economic Self-reliance Centre (WEES) in Soroti which operates two-week long empowerment training camps to reintegrate women based on their individual needs. In addition, we operate a field-based curriculum that is flexible to meet the needs of women who do not need as long-term reintegration support.

Broadly, our program includes nutritional support and education, counseling, vocational and entrepreneurship skills training and literacy education as key aspects of social re-integration services.