By: Habiba Cooper Diallo I was recently in Toronto at the Planet Africa Awards gala to receive an award for the work I have been doing on fistula and in the African community for the past few years.
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By: Habiba Cooper Diallo This July and part of August, I spent my summer in Guinea and Sierra Leone during which time I had the opportunity to visit a few hospitals and clinics in order to learn more about obstetric fistula in the two countries.
Dabola is a Prefecture in north-eastern Guinea, near the Malian border. It’s part of the region known as Haute-Guinee, and consists of a melange of ethnic groups, primarily Mandingo and Fulani peoples. By: Habiba Cooper Diallo I was recently in Toronto at the Youth In Motion (now Plan Canada) three day leadership summit for the recipients of the Top 20 Under 20 Award.
The program recognizes 20 of Canada’s “…brightest youth, celebrating their innovation, leadership and achievement.” By: Habiba Cooper Diallo Today, we had our screening of the film A Walk to Beautiful about women living wit fistula in Ethiopia. The event was very well attended with members of the Halifax community including youth, health-practitioners, activists, and schoolteachers. The film was poignant. It really drove home the devastation of fistula.
By: Habiba Cooper Diallo Currently at WHOI, we are planning to have a public screening of the documentary film, A Walk to Beautiful by Engel Media. The film tells the story of three women who suffer from fistula in Ethiopia and how they overcome the affliction after travelling to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia's capital.
Read about the screening here! By: Habiba Cooper Diallo The planning started in February while I was on a study abroad program in France. My mother and sister, Afua and Lami, along with a close friend, Juanita, worked tirelessly to organize my fundraiser while I was away.
The morning of my party, I was invited onto the African Woman & Family show on CIUT radio to give an interview about starting WHOI and my recent trip to Ethiopia. I really enjoyed the interview as I was able explain the tragedy of the affliction and discuss the ways in which WHOI intends to do to support fistula. I quickly left the studio and made my way to the party venue, a lively restaurant in down town Toronto called the Harlem. Upon arrival, my mother, sister, and some friends were setting-up. Ron Fanfair from the Share newspaper was also present to do a brief interview with me about the fundraiser. We went into one of the back rooms where he could get a good audio recording. By: Habiba Cooper Diallo I recently travelled to Ethiopia where I spent one month between December and January. After nearly 48 hours in transit between Canada and Germany, my family and I arrived at Bole airport on December 14th.
Finally, the trip I had been long awaiting came to fruition. |
Habiba Cooper DialloI am a Canadian end fistula advocate and blogger, and the founder of the Women’s Health Organization International, WHOI. I have been doing fistula awareness-building in Canada for the past 12 years. My work on fistula has led me to Ghana, Senegal, Guinea, Ethiopia, and Sierra Leone. I have been featured in Forbes, the HuffPost, and UNFPA CategoriesArchives
June 2020
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