Nampaiyo Koriata, a fistula envoy, has been fighting fistula among the Maa Women for ten years now.
The mother of five and grandmother to one was inspired to sensitise the community on fistula after she suffered the condition while in high school forcing her to drop out of school.
So far, through her organisation dubbed ‘Nampaiyo Koriata Fistula Trust’, she has helped over 500 women, whom she has linked to the relevant hospitals for treatment.
Like many Maasai girls, Ms Koriata underwent Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) when she was only 12 years old.
“After the cut, a girl is viewed as a woman; hence, I had the societal right to engage in sex. At the age of 15 years, I gave birth to my firstborn daughter but unfortunately developed a fistula,” she narrates.
At first, Ms Koriata admits that she did not understand what the condition was and decided to keep it to herself and focus on her secondary education.
The condition was so bad that she always had to put on a pad that kept soaking with urine and faeces.
This made her suffer low esteem and could not joyfully interact with her schoolmatesand play like other girls of her age.
Sometimes, her uniform would get soaked in stool, forcing her to stick to her desk by herself to avoid embarrassment.
“The condition affected me psychologically, emotionally, spiritually and physically. I became so weak and slim with no one to share with what I was going through. I kept telling myself that one day I would recover from the shame,” she told KNA.
At some point, the young girl decided to reduce the amount of food she was eating and take a little water to avoid wetting herself.
But when the condition persisted, the teenage girl opted to quit school and became pregnant with her second child.
“I told myself that when I get married and become pregnant, the condition would end. However, even after getting my second born, the condition persisted,” she said.
She later got married and had three other children while still suffering from the condition.
In the year 2015, she decided to seek medication and she was referred to Kenya National Hospital (KNH) to undergo surgery to fix a situation.
“I am glad that the condition was fixed after a surgery. I was completely cured. I told myself that I would help other women who were suffering from the same condition,” added Ms Koriata.
This prompted her to start an organisation located at Ololulunga trading centre, where she meets with women groups and individuals to sensitise them on fistula.
She advised women suffering from the condition not to suffer alone but to visit her office or hospital so that they can be helped.
Ms Koriata also condemns retrogressive cultural practices like FGM, early marriages and teenage pregnancies, as they can easily cause fistula.
“I advise my Maasai community to shun all retrogressive cultural practices, as they cause dangerous effects to girls. Let the girl go to school and compete with other children from other communities in the country,” she said.
Elizabeth Sankei, the chairlady of Entepesi Naleng’u women group located in Ololulunga trading centre, confessed to having gained a lot of knowledge on Fistula from the Nampayio Koriata Fistula Foundation.
“I have referred many women to the foundation and they have received treatment. Before, we thought the condition had no cure, but we have come to learn that the condition can be cured,” she said.
Through Nampaiyo, we have connected with other women groups where we are taught health and sanitation issues.
Apart from health topics, the women have been empowered to start income-generating activities like poultry keeping, beekeeping and goat rearing.
Joan Sankei, a beneficiary of the programme revealed that she has turned intoan ambassador of fistula after a successful treatment.
“I used to hide in shame because of my condition, but after the treatment, I now do my daily chores like any other woman. We came as a group and we were sensitised. We are now ambassadors of fistula,” said Ms Sankei.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) definition, obstetric fistula is an abnormal opening between a woman’s vagina and bladder and/or rectum, through which her urine and/or faeces continually leak.
The WHO report shows that there is a strong association between fistula and stillbirth, as approximately 90 per cent of women who develop the condition end up delivering stillborn babies.
By Ann Salaton
