I have been a nurse for 40 years and have always had a yearning to volunteer overseas. Family commitments have been the reason I have never had the opportunity to do so but I now find myself in a position to go and have been offered a place with a surgical team going to Tanzania in Africa in August 2016.
The surgery will be to assist women who have endured fistulas due to poor obstetric care, these fistulas leave sufferers incontinent of urine and so they are unable to remain with their families due to the stigma and smell of their condition. The surgery is fairly simple and we are hoping to operate on 100 women in 10 days and reunite them with their families.
This involves us paying our own air fares and living expenses and working 12 - 14 hours per day unpaid to meet our goal.
My Mum passed away recently, she has, for many years, been involved in knitting blankets for these women, they are traditionally gifted with a colourful blanket after surgery which they keep for life as a symbol of their experience. I feel my Mum had a hand in leading me to this opportunity and I am hoping to raise enough to get me there and cover my costs and enough to donate to cover the costs of 10 operations ($250 per operation). Any money raised above my goal will go toward surgery costs for additional women.