Marianna’s Journey: From Isolation to Rebuilding.

At 20, Marianna is rebuilding her life.

A mother of three from Namwi, Cheranganyi, Marianna is a survivor of obstetric fistula—a childbirth injury that can have profound physical, emotional and social consequences.

Before accessing treatment, Marianna experienced the isolation that can accompany fistula. Beyond the physical challenges, the condition can affect a woman’s dignity, relationships, confidence and ability to participate fully in her community.

Finding a pathway to treatment

Marianna was reached through WADADIA’s community outreach and referral network, which helps identify women living with fistula and connect them to treatment.

She was referred to Cherangany Nursing Home, one of the facilities in Fistula Foundation’s Kenya Treatment Network. Fistula Foundation supports a network of trusted hospitals and partners across Kenya to provide fistula care and expand access to life-changing surgery.

Marianna received surgical repair.

But WADADIA knows that repairing the fistula is only one part of recovery.

Rebuilding after treatment

Today, Marianna is accessing psychosocial support and tailoring training through WADADIA’s reintegration programming.

Tailoring gives her a practical skill to build on. Psychosocial support provides space to process her experience and strengthen her emotional wellbeing.

Together, these interventions support something larger: the opportunity to rebuild.

For Marianna, recovery is not simply about becoming physically well. It is about regaining confidence, developing skills and creating possibilities for a more secure future for herself and her children.

Why the continuum matters

Marianna’s journey demonstrates the importance of connecting community outreach, referral, surgical care, psychosocial support and economic reintegration.

If women are never identified, they cannot access treatment.

If treatment is not available, they cannot recover physically.

And if recovery ends at the hospital door, survivors may still face the social and economic challenges that existed before treatment.

WADADIA works to bridge these stages—helping women move from identification to treatment, and from treatment towards reintegration.

Marianna is now learning, healing and rebuilding.

Her story is not simply about surviving fistula. It is about having the opportunity to move forward.