globalgirl network

By Ellie Hagey


A few weeks ago I attended a film fest with my oldest daughter Tonya Sargent. One of the films we watched was a documentary called “Love, Labor, Loss” that told the story of women with fistulas, or holes, caused by obstructed labour. Most of the time the baby dies and because of prolonged pressure on the mother’s soft tissue often a hole is formed, allowing urine to leak continuously.


Fistulas mainly affect women who live in poverty in the developing world and can’t obtain quality health care, mostly in Africa, Asia and some Arab states. As a result of this condition, they are often shunned and ostracized by society. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), obstetric fistula affects an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 women around the world every year.


After watching the film, we were introduced to two women in Seattle who had learned that $300 would pay for fistula surgery for one woman. They started a group called “One by One” and the idea is to create a giving circle of ten women. The leader hosts a circle, donates $30 and asks the other nine participants to do the same.


I was so inspired by these women from Seattle. Sometimes the need seems so big you wonder, “How could I, one person, possibly make a difference?” I realized by very little effort I could significantly change the life of one woman.


With the help of some friends we planned a Saturday brunch. I sent out invitations and talked about what I had learned to whoever would listen. I wondered: “Would women catch the vision of this and want to help? Would we be able to raise the $300?”


I needn’t have worried. The day of the brunch, women began arriving at my home and they placed their donation in a little basket I had brought back from Africa. We enjoyed breakfast together in my garden; then went inside to view the documentary and share our response on what we had seen. Many were moved to tears seeing how our “sisters around the globe” had suffered giving birth. I read the poem “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou to honour the courage of these women who suffer so much but still go on. A friend brought bleeding heart seedlings for each woman. We were told it would bloom next year, symbolizing hope and new life for the women who will benefit from our day together.


We ended our time by joining our hands in a circle and speaking out our hopes and prayers for our sisters across the seas. When the money was counted we had raised $1200, enough for four women to have the necessary surgery and also have their lives transformed. Some of the women in the group expressed interest in hosting their own circle.


I envision our giving circle as a pebble thrown into the water. First one circle forms; then another and another. My heart was warmed to know that other women, here in Canada, could catch the vision of how we are all connected. The privilege of living in this country also brings with it the responsibility to help those who are less fortunate than us.


This week I was in Seattle taking training to become a doula. At our lunch break I mentioned the brunch we had and also about “One by One.” Afterwards one of the women at our table came and asked for my email because she too wanted to host a giving circle. I was thrilled.


And so the circle widens.


For more detailed information about hosting a circle, check out the One by One website at www.onebyoneproject.net.



About Ellie:
Ellie has worn many hats as nurse, childbirth educator and ESL Instructor, while her passion to make a difference in the world has led her to travel to Asia, Africa and Central America on humanitarian missions. She is currently pastoring a church of 20- to 30-year-olds called “Emerge” with her husband, Doug, in Surrey, BC, Canada.