When Lyn Wake and her daughters, Rachael and Nicole, entered a rehabilitation hospital in Tanzania recently, they were welcomed in song.
The Doreen family was in Dar es Salaam, the largest city in eastern Africa, on a mission particularly close to their hearts.
Four years ago, Lyn and David Wake’s then 15-year-old daughter, Bethany, died of an aggressive form of brain cancer. Before her death, Beth had spoken of her desire to become a midwife and work in Ethiopia at Addis Ababa Fistular Hospital after learning about the hospital’s co-founders, Catherine and Reg Hamlin, at school.
For four years, the Wake family has been raising funds to support Beth’s dream, so far collecting about $100,000, administered through CBM Australia, a Christian development organisation.
Beth’s particular concern was to help women suffering obstetric fistula, a condition in which a hole develops between the bladder and vagina after prolonged obstructed childbirth.
“Beth was 14 when she heard about this need,” Mrs Wake said.
“Women having babies at a young age, who become the untouchables … They’re often isolated, about 80 per cent are abandoned by their husbands and families.”
Last month Beth’s family visited the maternal and newborn health department of a Tanzanian hospital, taking a film crew to produce a documentary about the women there and the condition they face. They also plan to write a book about the work at the hospital.
“Our two girls came with us. It was very eye-opening for them,” Mrs Wake said. “These women are living in such harsh conditions.”
To donate to the Bethany Wake Stop Fistula Appeal visit www.cbm.org.au/bethany.
Lexi Cottee
